Sludge Metal – Page 2 – Metal Eclipse Reviews

Immortal Bird – Sin Querencia

Stargazer Scholar

Immortal Bird has developed an especially vicious brand of Death Metal. Seasoned with Black, Sludge, and Crust undertones, its music is as intricate as it is pummeling. That being said, listeners were left to conjecture about the next step in the band’s evolution, as its previous full-length had already reached the respectable age of five. Personally, I was favoring a more progressive, sprawling approach, being an ardent appreciator of the lengthier tracks from the prior releases. You can imagine my surprise, then, when I received the promo for the long-awaited Sin Querencia and discovered that, contrary to my expectations and hopes, Immortal Bird opted for concision.

Bile Caster – Writhing Between Birth and Death

Pegah

“There are certain sores in life that, like a canker, gnaw at the soul in solitude and diminish it. Since generally it is the custom to attribute these incredible sufferings to the realm of rare and singular accidents and happenings, it is not possible to speak about them to others“.
― Sadegh Hedayat, The Blind Owl

Bragging Rights – Small Gods

Maybe we’ll do this more often—giving acts from the deep underground a full platform, as long as they send stuff in advance. Bragging Rights (the name cracks me up) is a project that, by looking at its cover art, you’d think was satirical. I wasn’t quite sure if this meant the album was going to be deeply serious or just troll me harder than this. Either way, I came in with a better disposition than usual because I was on vacation and felt like humanity deserved a chance again (I can’t wait for them to let me down…). Alright, let’s see what Small Gods puts on the table.

Grid – The World Before Us

You’ve heard about space Black Metal, you’ve heard about space Death Metal, even about cosmic Thrash. I guess it was about time we started hearing something about space Post-Metal. Yes, it finally happened: space has become a theme for deconstruction. Grid is volunteering to offer us an epic journey into our own interstellar origins, which already sounds refreshing, but can The World Before Us stand out in this vast universe filled with indifference? That’s what we’re here to find out!

Solemn Ceremony – Chapter III

It’s Doom time! I know it might seem like we at MER have an anti-Doom agenda. Nothing could be further from the truth! However, this hasn’t been exactly the most Doom-filled year. That doesn’t mean we can’t run into interesting work. Look at what Solemn Ceremony brings to the table: rough and crusty music that promises to transport you to a much more relaxed world, away from the miseries of your anxious existence. Does it succeed, or can nothing save you from yourself? Slowly, we’ll find out.

Orange Goblin – Science, Not Fiction

Sometimes at MER, we want to show that we can do more than just review the most brutal and godless albums the internet can throw at us. We also enjoy some good Sludge or Stoner Rock. Yes, it’s even more niche and bad for our pathetic money ambitions, but for now, we have principles. Orange Goblin is what happens when you combine Mastodon, Sleep, and Electric Wizard. You’re going to feel the spices going up your bloodstream and down your toilet seat. So, where to put Science, Not Fiction in a long and illustrious career? Let’s see!

Sumac – The Healer

I’ve been dreading this moment for long; it’s almost given me nightmares. No other band in Metal can evoke the feeling of being trapped in your anxious prison like Sumac does. Ever since, I discovered it with What One Becomes, next to everything Sumac touched has been perfection to my ears. However, since May You Be Held, I’ve started to get worried about the direction of the band. It’s almost become a Noise/Jazz band with Metal textures that explores dark mental corners like nobody does; conceptually fascinating, but challenging to sit through. Hence, The Healer has the tough task to add something new to one of the riskiest projects in Post-Metal, without alienating us, the peasantry. Will it succeed?

Desolat – Get Sick and Let Me Watch You Die

Hi there, my corpse-painted children. Today, I bring you something different. Are you ever fed up with city life? With the urban hostility that eats up your soul? Well, I present the newest release from Desolat. It has probably the worst name an album could’ve had during the COVID pandemic: Get Sick and Let Me Watch You Die (too soon?), but luckily for everyone, the album is coming out now. The real question is: are we ready to jump into a sea of artsy noise, or do we need more distractions from our sad reality? Stay put!