THE SLUDGE SHEET

GAPING MAW from Cincinnati has broken up.  I talked to one or two of the guys about it.  Sad to see that happen, but hopefully good will come of it.  If you haven't heard them yet, go to bandcamp and pick up their swan song, The Big Fuck-Over .  Physical copies are $5, downloads are name-your-price. The Big Fuck-Over by Gaping Maw WOORMS (from Baton Rouge, Louisiana) released a sick album called Slaked this year on Sludgelord Records.  It's on Spotify , Bandcamp , etc.  I strongly recommend it.  Definitely a top five or top ten release for the year.  Grab a copy on splattered vinyl before they're gone!!!! Australia's HORSEHUNTER put out their long-awaited sophomore effort, a self-titled full-length on Magnetic Eye.  It's on a variety of formats.  You can hear it in all of the usual places... Spotify , Bandcamp  (which is also where you can buy it), etc.

This was by far the best year for sludge music I've seen in awhile.  Never heard so many solid releases in the genre from so many different places!!!   I think sludge might be developing into something with a worldwide scene of its own, rather than merely being considered a "subset" of doom metal, with a strong presence in NOLA and a handful of bands in other places.  Even my home state of Ohio (and the city of Cincinnati, where I live) has exploded with good sludge bands in recent years.  In Cincinnati, for a long time, we used to only have BENEATH OBLIVION .  But GAPING MAW and FLESH MOTHER emerged a few years ago and both have grown in their sound considerably... (this is the default image for a video of part of their set at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, NY in 2017 - it was shot by Max Volume Silence ) FLESH MOTHER released an incredible   two-song EP two years ago and last year, put out an impressive full-length  that was mastered by ...