SLUDGETOBERFEST- A Down-tuned Odyssey

As the days grow shorter, the nights colder, and the mornings more invasive, a proper soundtrack is in order for the occasion. Sludge, a genre I came to unfortunately late, has been a mainstay in my musical diet for a good while now. Whether it was when I first heard Dystopia, or finally got around to Eyehategod, never has a name epitomized [sludge] a sound so well.

I've compiled this digital tape in hopes to not only share my fondness for the following bands, but also in hopes of inciting people to find something new and discuss it, embrace it, and reinvent it. Sludge is a fickle thing for me because I dislike many mainstays of the genre (Down, Crowbar, Acid Bath) yet I consider it a favorite genre of mine.

Anyway, enjoy this scratch at the sewage lid, and feel free to share. I opted for the more vile and brooding bands, as well as made an exception for Coffins.

Sludgetoberfest Mixtape

1. "The Frozen Styx"                              Coffins                                       Buried Death
2. "Empty"                                             Corrupted                                 Corrupted/Cripple Bastards
3. "Hands That Mold"                            Dystopia                                   Human = Garbage
4. "Anxiety Hangover"                            Eyehategod                              Dopesick
5. "Disciples of Nothingness"                 Fleshpress                                 Pillars
6. Birth of Cousins                                Goatsblood                                Drull
7. Depression                                       Grief                                          Dismal 
8. Lethe                                                Hell                                           Hell 
9. Boss Keloid                                     Iron Monkey                             Our Problem
10. Wroll                                                Moloch                                     Tears That Soak A Callous Heart
11. Stasis                                               Noothgrush                                Failing Early, Failing Often
12. Master Failure                                  Salome                                      Terminal
13. The Work Ethic Myth                       Thou                                         Peasant
14. Dust                                                 Wake Up On Fire                     Wake Up On Fire
15. Exit                                                   Zenocide                                   Zenocide

I have no idea why blogspot is being a complete cunt about this formatting, but whatever; I'm not spending more time trying to fix it.

MOLOCH- Possession

U.K. sludge tyrants Moloch finally released their first full length entitled Possession through German label Vendetta Records. Not for the faint of heart, Possession makes its way through roughly 31 minutes of plodding, visceral sludge that's as reminiscent of stalwarts Eyehategod and contemporaries Salome.

By momentum alone, Moloch's made me a fan. The fevered yells time into the tectonic drum shifts as they themselves time into waves of feedback that keep the listener stupefied as the sheer power and volume of the music treads that deliciously sludgy line of what's too loud.


For a band that rarely finds a mid-tempo they sound very comfortable in the little giddy-up sections as the drums ride and the guitar plays a very NOLA-esque riff. That said, it's not common place as the band's bread and butter are the march like pushes I've hinted at before. The drums themselves are so immense that I picture the drummer fully raising his arms above his head before each hit for the loudest hit possible.

By far one of the most intense, overwhelming, and bowel-shakingly enjoyable releases this year. The band exudes such a level of dismal nihilism with its sound, stark and minimal artwork and the voracious vocals that always penetrate the listener above all else. Be sure to get your hands on this one.