Motherless : "Do You Feel Safe? "

 Comprised of former Atlas Moth members, the Chicago-based band offers a more overt attack on your ears, as the opening track charges at you before locking into more of a groove. The howled vocals ride the manic sonics. On the second, there is more of a deliberate sludge attack going on. While they are more in your face than the Atlas Moth, they do not feel as dark to me. Though you begin to hear a subtle Neurosis influence in the guitars. If you do not feel like getting screamed at, then this album is not for you. "You Seem so Damn Sure" is more tense, as the guitar's lock, the crazed vocal screaming around the taunt riffing. 

The drumming feels like the most punk aspect of their sound, not a ton of double bass, with the guitars providing most of the metallic energy, and the wild abandon of the vocals falling in a more hardcore middle ground. Though they do drop into a low growl in some spots. Things work best here when they take a step back and allow some room for atmosphere. This brings a more dynamic contrast; the groove on "Darling You Don't Look Well" highlights this as it's the best song so far. The stomp of the song falls somewhere between noise rock and hardcore. "Weaponized Goodwill" rages like someone gave the Jesus Lizard meth. It then flies in an almost black metal direction in places. 

"Christian Masth" might be the most accessible song yet, as the vocals have more form and function, and the song's groove with a syncopated throb. "Insect Politics" has a more rock roll boogie, with a more interesting layering of guitar tones. The last song returns to a more punk energy, though not as confrontational as how they opened the album. The album improves the scope of its dynamics, the deeper you dive, I will give it an 8.5

pst386

the Top 10 Stoner / Sludge Albums of 2018

It is that time again. This list was started because well doom and sludge are not the same thing. Neither is doom and stoner rock. While stoner rock and sludge are not the same thing, the lines seem to be blurred a little closer and basically this is about how much pot you are smoking. If you are smoking pot hoping for the apocalypse then you are sludge, you also probably like crusty punk. If you are riding around the desert smoking pot while hoping to find more pot to smoke while listening to Thin Lizzy you are stoner rock. But we are lumping them together, just like last year. The score from my reviews to help determine the ranking , but also how many times Last FM told me I listened to each album.An album can have all the critical acclaim in the world but if it does not inspire multiple listens then how good can it actually be ?

This year it leans more heavily on the side of between new blood being spilled and  more well established acts .  Rather than posting media of a track from each band I am leaving a link to the review, which will contain Bandcamp or Full Album Streams. Ok, enough talking about it, the time has come to dig into the top 10 Stoner /sludge albums of 2018.

10- Secret Cutter - "Quantum Eraser"

 Heavy... that is the mission statement here. This Trio is one of the band's whose name I am familiar with, but have never sat down to give a solid listen. Sludge seems to be the focus, though the spastic tormented vocals could come from a grind core band as they are not just the coarse bellow that booms from most sludge.I think they accomplished what they set out to do, If you are into sludge filled grind core with groove then this album is more for you. It grew on me the more I listened.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/06/secret-cutter-quantum-eraser.html

9- Wolftooth - s/t

 Imagine if Ghost was not pussies but hammered you with dense aggressive chugs. This is a good example of what separates the band's on this list from doom, it's to upbeat and focused on the chug to be doom, though not fast enough to be power metal or thrash, however they are the right speed to rip a bong to. Going back to listen to this album as I made this list reminded me of how good it is.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/01/wolftooth-st.html

8- Alkymist - "s/t"

 The first song on the band's self titled debut reminds me of a cross between Godflesh and Neurosis.I do think the difference between doom and sludge lies in the sense of mourning , and this album carries a dirtier more apocalyptic chug to it, that is being displayed here. I'm just working off my first impression of the opener so maybe their entire families get killed before the second song and the album takes a more despondent turn. I can also hear some Crowbar influence in the grunt of the vocals.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/alkymist-st.html

7-Uncle Acid and the Dead Beats - "Wasteland"

 When it comes to the retro style of stoner rock these guys feel like the Rob Zombie version of that as things have had a pulp horror feel to them. Their hippy side tends to win out, but this album finds the normally hard rock band leaning into a more Sabbath style of metal. The first two songs have a catchier swagger and chug to them. This is the strongest effort yet from the band.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/uncle-acid-and-deadbeats-wasteland.html

6-Besvärjelsen : "Vallmo"

 Blending a surreal darkness with doom tinged rock riffs these guys so deftly deal in. It's the more surreal swirl to their sound that helps elevate them from the rest of the retro occult rock. While they might not be as keen of songwriters as Devils Blood was they are going into a more drugged out direction. With some interesting melodic breaks these guys are like subtle weed as in they creep up on you and the songs often seep into your brain.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/besvarjelsen-vallmo.html

5-Sleep- "the Sciences"

 The first album in two decades from Sleep. If you are new to stoner metal and just crawling out from under a mushroom, then you might know guitarist Matt Pike from this other band called High On Fire. Al Cisneros who handles the vocals has also played in OM and this time they have the drummer from Neurosis sitting behind the drums. The vocals come across a little different than I remember. They are lower and not as soaked in effects.It does a good job of picking up where they left off. With these guys older and wiser the results don't come short of them proving themselves capable of sitting along side the like of Kyuss in the smoky halls of stoner metal royalty.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/sleep-sciences.html

4- Atlas Moth- "Coma Noir" 

 These guys have met at the cross roads of varied genres for sometimes. The consensus is these guys are sludge, though they have played black metal projects individually so that influence is there. They blend sung vocals with screamed vocals that are at a higher pitch bringing another comparison to black metal. There is a powerful metallic chug tothe grooves are to refined to be sludge. It almost borders on Myspace metal styled hardcore as the refinement of the riffs in some cases is a refined as say Atreyu. The way the guitars are layered sometimes it's hard to tell if they are using synths or heavily effected guitars.


https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-atlas-moth-coma-noir.html

3- Fister - "No Spirit Within" 

 This album has plenty pf the wretched vocal howls and crunching slabs of low tuned riffs as it also creates a mood that poses the question where does doom begin and sludge end. They often have a woeful feel until things begin to pick up pace. The guitars capture a sonic atmosphere that's dark and impresses me. They go from almost jamming to the guitars becoming a demolishing swathe of pounding distortion. They weave in interesting shifts in dynamics which doesn't go into all the normal places as the band keeps you guessing with their affinity for haunting melody.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/04/fister-no-spirit-within.html

2 Windhand- "Eternal Return"

 While they are still fixated on Sabbath like overdrive, the vocals have more hooks and they are sharper. Her lazy alto floats over the thick riffs. This is a good example of how I don't need the wheel reinvented I just need bands to give it their own spin. They step away from the bong to indulge in smokey country with a blues underbelly. This might be their most balanced album yet and shows a ton of maturity in their refined songwriting.

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/09/windhand-eternal-return.html




 


1-Ilsa- "Corpse Fortress"

 This band is refusing to hold back on  on their debut for Relapse Records. The band's 5th full length finds them continuing to hammer skulls in with the sheer density of their blown out sludge. Dirty and squealing with feedback. The vocals are phrased in a way that that give the coarse scathing shouts almost more of  sung feel. The lyrics cut through better with this delivery. They shift back into more of a low end pounding that owes more to doom when it comes to the ominous rumble as the momentum continues to build. The flatulent bass can be heard in the din at times, but it generally hits you as one frequency. This album earned multiple listens I think it is a huge step forward for the band


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2018/03/ilsa-corpse-fortress.html

the Atlas Moth : "Coma Noir"

These guys have met at the cross roads of varied genres for sometimes. The consensus is these guys are sludge, though they have played black metal projects individually so that influence is there. They blend sung vocals with screamed vocals that are at a higher pitch bringing another comparison to black metal. There is a powerful metallic chug to the opening song, that makes it clear this heavy though murky as to what is being made here aside from metal. There feels like the grooves are to refined to be sludge. It almost borders on Myspace metal styled hardcore as the refinement of the riffs in some cases is a refined as say Atreyu. The way the guitars are layered sometimes it's hard to tell if they are using synths or heavily effected guitars.

There is a more rock n roll feel to "Galactic Brain". The vocals are sung in a tough baritone giving it more of a Corrosion of Conformity feel. The harsher vocals do come in before going back into the verse, but I would not call it a chorus. "the Streets of Bombay" starts off sounding like it might go in a more prog direction, but evens out into a more sludgey groove. The harsher vocals sound less black metal on this album. They throw down some pretty mean grooves that have rock sensibilities. Not so sure of the lyrics to "Actual Human Blood", but the guitars sound great. The screamed vocals work a little better than the sung vocals on this one. When "Smiling Knife" actually kicks in it's pretty heavy, though tinged with odd angular quirks. There is a more jammy middle section to this one with a solo that compliments the song.

There is a good thick groove to "Furious Gold" the production on this album might be heavy handed but it's hard to argue against this song. Without question it's more accessible, not at a Mastodon level but heading there.Though I am fine with this on a song like "the Frozen Crown" where drive and melody are given equal measure. "Chloroform" closes the album with a marginally darker shade. It's not the album's strongest song but it's not bad either. Right now I'll give this album a 9 and see how it grows on me.

the Atlas Moth: the Old Believer

This band brings mixed responses from people as they occupy a middle ground also walked by bands like Isis and Baroness. At this point any sludge elements have been rock n rolled out.  I like the fact these guys are not afraid to experiment and try different things, how ever things re being done a lot different here.

The clean vocals in the background are lower and more mournful. almost making this sound like a different band if not for the angular stabs of guitar that bear a similar distortion. They are heading in a much more melodic direction and I think who have not like them in the past won't find their minds changed as these guys are headed down the road to radio the die-hard metal crowd might shun. They don't launch into the opener with the same aggression they once attacked their songs with.

The lower vocals sound like they should be on a doom metal band's album as they are slightly My Dying Bride.There is a good groove to "The Sea Beyond". but the guitar tone is beginning to sound thinner on this one. Some of the chords even have a more romantic almost goth feel to them. Going back and listener to "Collider" the thinness in the guitars seems to be due to the guitars never crunching down on the same riffs, they noodle in opposing directions making this more angular and dissonance, but loses sonic heft.  

Some pretty good screams echo out of "Wynona". I can hear the Myspace metal elements that turn off some. But I appreciate these guys are writing actual songs and not just trying to re-vamp what Morbid Angel did in the 80's. This does sometimes find  time coming across like a darker version of Mastodon, as guitar lines jut out from every corner.

The weird change in the vocals works on "City of Light", but if you played this song for me I would not have guess this was the Atlas Moth. When the harsh vocals come in it creates a greater dynamic. The palm muted chugs are also more on point here. Even on "Halcyon Blvd" it's hard to argue to with the new sound, but it sounds like Killing Joke meets Fields of the Nephillim. So if you are a fan this might be hard to swallow and easier for me as I never had much emotional investment in this band. A wise move on my part as they will sound totally different if they make to another album judging from this.

The doomy sluggishness haunts "Sacred Vine" as it tries to gain momentum. Is this Paradise Lost? I find myself going back to check to see if the file is labelled correctly. I can swear the words, damsel and castle have both come from the singer's mouth. The hipster math rock elements are twinkles in the back ground here.

The title track starts of with the guitar making you think they are going to kick into their old sound, but sooner than later mellotron comes in over the guitar. They do have a little bigger sound on the Mastodon like track that closes the album.

Metal Sucks ran an article asking what happens when you run this album under water. Apparently the cover changes, but I thought it was a joke in regard to how vampires can't cross running water, due to the goth shift they have taken. I also thought it said how do you ruin the Atlas Moth's new album. So the reaction this album gets will interest me.  I'll round it up to a 7.5 , it's not going to make any album of the year lists as it could use some balls to it tonally.