Minsk - Burning (2003)

Artist: Minsk

Album: Burning

Year: 2003

Genre: Sludge | Doom

Origin: Illinois, USA

 -Tracklist-
1. The Time Ek Stasis
2. Boreas
3. As the City Burns
4. The Plains of San Agustin

Minsk formed in 2002 out of Peoria, Illinois. They play an other-worldly form of post-sludge / doom that is highly psychedelic and atmospheric. The band's songs tend to start off slow with a certain calmness to them, only to turn into something very intricate and complex, almost organic when you hear the tribal drumming patterns. Their sound is very deep and spiritual, in a way, whilst retaining that heaviness through the aggressively echoed vocal style and synth instrumentation. 

In regards to their name, Minsk is the capital of Belarus, which has been burned to the ground more than once. Lyrically, they draw most inspiration from the Belarussian city where survival through suffering is inherent. 

Consisting of 4 members, they produced a demo entitled Burning in '03 around the same time as their appearance at The Templars of Doom Festival, gaining them more attention and a new fan-base. They later released their first full-length in '05 with the help of notable underground producer and current bassist, Sanford Parker, of Buried at Sea.

--DEMO--

Fleshpress - No Return EP (2010)

 

Artist: Fleshpress
Album: No Return EP
Year: 2010
Genre: Sludge | Doom
Origin: Finland

-Tracklist-

1.	No Return 10:06
2,	Spiral Filter 12:24

Finland's own Fleshpress are a 5-piece blackened-sludge / doom outfit that formed in 1998. Their first EP is pretty much NOLA worship done very well. Taking their name from a song off of Grief's "Dismal" album, they definitely manage to capture the same essence as far as sickness goes, and in earlier recordings their sound seems to induce the exact same feeling Eyehategod brings out in fans.

Shortly after, when they came out with their self-titled '02 release, they began with the darker more blackened style, as opposed to the fuzzier stoner / sludge feel of the former. This is one disgruntled dude, and you can really feel the hate and misanthropy seeping through the filthy and agressive vocal style.

Their Pillars release is definitely what you would call nihilistic blackened sludge, with more of a dronier, experimental direction, but they in no way lose their appeal by adopting that element. Drummer Mikko Aspa is also in Clandestine Blaze, Deathspell Omega, and Stabat Mater. You will not be disappointed with the disenchanted Fleshpress.

DISENCHANT YOUR EXISTENCE!

Stank - Slug Trail Eyes (2000)

Artist: Stank
Album: Slug Trail Eyes
Genre: Sludge
Year: 2000
Origin: USA (Norfolk, Virginia)

Track-list:
1. Your Heads        
2. Slug Trail Eyes        
3. Abe's Odyssey        
4. Whitewashed        
5. Bad Boy Chicken Fart        
6. Shadocide    
7. Proven Wrong        
8. Momo        

Nice to be back blogging like in the old Sludgeswamp days …
Stank were not from NOLA but they made some glorious, filthy, corrosive, molasse-thick, uncut sludge metal. Stank (such a name!) was rather short-lived (1998-2002) and involved guys from fine acts such as Mugwart, Beaten Back to Pure and Lunch, besides Kilara, Alabama Thunderpussy, etc. Therefore the last-known line-up included Kevin Whitley on guitar/vocals, Greg Bulman on bass and Dave Johnson aka D.C. on drums. Stank just released a split with Mugwart in 1999 and only one, crazily badass full-length album, Slug Trail Eyes, in 2000. The latter landed like a burning meteorite in the Swamp short before the adventure ended in mid 2011 and thanks to a close friend of the band.
I feel sharing Stank’s old kickass tunes may be nice for thanking my mates who invited me here and an awesome way for plunging into the mood of Swampchode’s blog … \m/

Find more infos here:
Metal Archives
Reverbnation

Let’s Stank

- Mari -

V/A - The Death Roots Syndicate: Volume III (2014)

 Artist: Various Artists
Album: The Death Roots Syndicate: Volume III
Year: 2014
Genre: Dark Country / Blues / Folk
Origin: Earth

-Tracklist-
01 - Slate Dump - Make Me
02 - Whitfield Fahrenheit - Straight Razor Jack
03 - Slackeye Slim - Old John Boy
04 - Jesus and The Groupies - Betsy
05 - In the Land of the Blind... - She is Mine
06 - Moose Roberts - It's A Crime And Shame
07 - Cyanna Mercury - Ode To The Absent Father
08 - Sasha Boole - Iron and Stone
09 - Reverend Elvis - Midnight Train
10 - Bang Bang Band Girl - Lies
11 - t.k. bollinger and that sinking feeling - Nothing is always certain
12 - Os Penitentes - Corpo-Seco
13 - Brakkenor - Beautifully Rotten
14 - Trash Colapso & his Scrap Metal Truck! - El Vampiro
15 - Longshot Nelson and the Disjoints - Black Is The Colour
16 - SwampWolf - Inferno
17 - OldBoy - Even Less
18 - Jeremiah Crow's Insufferable One Man Show - Ingest
19 - Pigeon Petal - Reverie
20 - Sleepy Eyes Nelson - Worried Blues On My Mind
21 - Junk - Superstring
22 - The Krucifixion - Death Gospel
23 - Sons of Perdition - In the Air Tonight


Here is the third volume in a series of compilations I release on my Free Netlabel, Death Roots Syndicate. This label is dedicated to "Dark Roots" Music. I release a lot of Underground Country, Folk, Blues, Americana, etc. It features artists from all over the world playing different styles of music with a Dark feel to it. It also includes previously unreleased tracks from Slackeye Slim and Sons of Perdition.

You can Check out Death Roots Syndicate at:
http://deathrootssyndicate.blogspot.com

And here is a DIRECT DOWNLOAD

- GoatSerpent

Red Harvest - Sick Transit Gloria Mundi (2002)

Artist: Red Harvest
Album: Sick Transit Gloria Mundi
Year: 2002
Genre: Industrial | Black 
Origin: Norway 

-Tracklist-
1 - U.G.X.
2 - AEP
3 - Godtech
4 - Humanoia
5 - Dead
6 - CyberNaut
7 - Beyond The End
8 - Desolation
9 - Sick Transit Gloria Mundi
10 - Dead Men Don't Rape
11 - WeltSchmertz
12 - (Dead End)
13 - Final Scorn (bonus track)
14 - Re-Hammer-Mix (bonus track)


These guys formed in 1989 out of Oslo, Norway under the record label Season of Mist and are unfortunately split-up. They began originally as a thrash act, but have since evolved their sound to that of more experimental / industrial nature, with more elements of black and death. Red Harvest are considered ''Extreme Apocalyptic Metal'' which is fitting, considering they're mostly lyrically set around the theme of the apocalypse and technology.

 Mainly focusing around evolving their sound with each new release, along with their logo, the band has definitely held up to that factor and their shit has just gotten darker as expected through the years. They put on a killer live show back in 2007, which I was lucky to catch because they split-up right after the fact. Intense and flawless! Some past-members were also involved with Waklevören, V:28 and Dunkel:heit, all of Norway as well.

HARVEST!

Mother Susurrus - S/T EP (2010)

Artist: Mother Susurrus
Album: S/T EP
Year: 2010
Genre: Sludge | Doom
Origin: Finland 

-Tracklist-

		Whoremonger - 11:16
		Apocatastasis - 21:10

Finally, some good post-sludge up for grabs out of none other than Finland.... again. Mother Susurrus are a 4-piece based out of Tampere. I'm not too sure when they started out, but they will have a hard time going unnoticed by me for too long. MS have a full-length up for grabs they recently put out, which you can jam HERE, so be on the look out for that gem if you dig their style, it is definitely Teabag approved!!

Basically, this type of sludge is right up my alley - very dark and heavy - as well as the vocals. Although the songs are of the lengthy type, this band doesn't veer too far into the lighthearted soundscapes that these kind of bands are typically known for, but the build-up on their instrumental sections are worth the wait in that respect. I'm guessing you could liken them to a mixture of Old Man Gloom, Alaskan and Betrayal at Bespin, but they're definitely honing their own style in the end result.

* I post older albums and don't really care about the quality, as this is a preview anyway.. if you like the band then please support them by visiting their respective Facebook, Bandcamp, or other sources of media of their choice. My goal is to promote the band and encourage the prospective listener to actually seek out their material. I could easily post discographies with every entry, but that would be contradictory to my goal and detrimental to the band...  Audio nerds and New-release fiends can fuck off...

                                                                                                                              - Teabag

GETCHOO SUM!

Paramnesia - UNRU (Split)

Genre: Atmospheric Black Metal
Origin: France / Germany
Artist: Paramnesia / UNRU
Album: Split
Year: 2014
Quality: 320kbps


Here we have two "Atmospheric" Black Metal bands from Europe. But no keyboards or any of that shit. Pure atmosphere from killer riffs and production. These two seemed to jump out of nowhere in the past few years and are a definite force to be reckoned with in the world of generic black metal crap going around. I would even recommend this to anyone that isn't a Black Metal fan. Good shit, man!

I know choder would have dug this, so here you go. Rest well my friend...


Tracklist
01. Paramnesia - III
02. UNRU - Die Welt in der wir sterben


GET SOME

Stumm - I (2006)

Artist: Stumm
Album: I 
Genre: Sludge | Doom
Year: 2006
Origin: Finland

-Tracklist-
1. Chokehold Narcosis
2. Biting the Hand That Feeds
3. New Christ for Every Morning
4. Not Waving but Drowning

Stumm play out of Turku, Finland and have played actively since 2003. They are right up there with disenchanted sludgers Fleshpress, Frogskin, and a few other Finnish greats destined to appear here. What you get is sickened sludge - paired with drone/low-fi undertones, diverse change-ups, and an all around intense vocal delivery.

They will fuck your face up for a couple of reasons: it remains intense sonically, yet simultaneously down-tuned and static. Stumm have played tirelessly alongside the above mentioned bands, also doing so with a few lesser known acts such as Phenylketonuria (PKU), Loinen and Taunt.

The band's approach is as misanthropic and morose as it gets, which definitely comes through them accurately at live gigs. The Finns know what's up sludge-style, so you can't go wrong with this gem.




-STUMM-

Seahag - Demo (2007)

Artist: Seahag
Year: 2007
Genre: Sludge | Doom
Origin: Arkansas, USA


-Tracklist-
1. Bottomfeeder (6:33)
2. Wasted (7:43)
3. Drawn To Darkness (7:39)
4. The Theif, The Coward (8:10)
5. Hate Note (8:14)

These guys were formerly known as Locust Swarm and started playing as Seahag in 2004. They play out of Little Rock, Arkansas as a 5-piece and feature Deadbird's vocalist as well as 2 other members involved with Circle of the Black Thorn.

This is some pretty dark and melodic sludge with doomy vocals that alternate from guttural low-pitched screams on up to the high-pitched sludge variety. This is unlike anything I've heard in a while on grounds of their melodic nature, but it is refreshing to hear their take on the usual dime-a-dozen sludge style, and the feel you get from it is definitely despair and hopelessness.

I guess you get elements of Rwake, considering the melodic riffs, but this is in no way psychedelic; it most resembles vocals and melodies. Their demo as Locust Swarm remains incomplete and, unfortunately, never saw a release. However, the demo released under their Seahag moniker is killer along with their full-length, so go ahead and check those two out in their entirety. Most songs won't go past the 6-8 minute mark for those of you on the inpatient side.


 YEAYOURITE!!

Loinen - S/T (2005)

Album: Loinen

Year: 2005

Genre: Sludge | Doom
Origin: Finland

-Tracklist-

1. Kohtalo 

2. Kadotus

3. Maailmanloppu

4. Lapamato (live) 

Hey y'all! This is motherfucking Loinen, which means ''parasite'' in English. They are a quartet, playing an excellent brand of intense sludge out of Finland since 2002. These fuckers utilize what I would refer to as ''sonic excess in it's purest form'' for sure! Walls of thickly distorted and textured riffs are backed up by the most wretched and insane vocals of the hardcore sort. I haven't heard anything quite like this before Stumm came along, which is another Finnish band of the same quality and style. 

The band consists of ''Primus'' (vocals), ''Quartus'' (bass), ''Septimus'' (bass), and ''Tertius'' (drums) - so this band has dual bassists, which accounts for their brutal delivery in sound. I don't have much else to add about this almighty band, except for the fact that they make me want to masturbate in rapid-fire succession upon hearing their tunes. So check out their self-titled EP below for a good taste of how these bastards roll! R.I.P. PETU!

GETCHOO SUM!

RIP David "Swampchode" Scioneaux Jr.

Swampchode started this blog before blogging was even a thing. He, like all of us in the underground community, took great pleasure in sharing music held dear to us.

Although life got the best of us and this blog has been on a long hiatus, it was never abandoned. In his absence I will do my best to keep this place alive and well. He will be missed sorely by all of us.

You were like a brother to me Swampchode, thank you for your contribution to the underground over the years and the memories you leave behind. We love you man, may your soul rest in peace.

------Obituary and services--------