Coltsblood/Un - Split

For the longest time, I resisted splits.  The reason, I think, is that I wanted more music from bands, not less, and splits inherently feature less music from each band than an LP or (usually) an EP would.  "But Durf," you're saying, "Even though you get less music from each band, you're getting music from two bands! And besides, isn't something better than nothing?" Reader, I hear you, and I never said it was a good reason.  Like many things in my life, it could be explained by the fact that I am, quite frankly, an idiot a lot of the time.  But that is the past, because I have come around on splits.  It started two years ago with the incredible Chrch/Fister split, then continued on last year with Eye of Solitude/Marche Funébre release.  I actually purchased two Panopticon splits, one with Falls of Rauros, the other with Waldgeflüster.  They're good!  Great, even.  Basically everything I thought about splits was incorrect, and I am now more than willing to give them a listen, especially when they feature two bands that get me all tingly.  Such is the case with the new split between Coltsblood and Un.

Primitive Man - Caustic

It feels like Primitive Man has been around forever, but in reality their debut full-length Scorn came out only four years ago.  Since then, however, they've released nearly a dozen singles, splits, and the EP Home is Where the Hatred Is, making them one of the more prolific bands going.  The Denver sludge trio has put out some of the darkest, most repulsive sludge around in the past four years, and with the release of their sophomore LP Caustic, it appears that was just a warm up.

Squalus - The Great Fish

Jaws is an incredible movie, with some of the most iconic shots and quotes in all of American cinematic history.  Robert Shaw's Quint is an All-Time Classic movie character, and I could watch his monologue about the U.S.S. Indianapolis daily for the rest of my life.  As far as nautically-themed stories go, Jaws is second to none, and while I beseech Hollywood not to remake it, the story itself is ripe for inspiration and interpretation.  Squalus, the new band made up of 80% of the dearly departed Giant Squid, seemingly agrees, as their debut album The Great Fish... sees the band apply their post-metal sludgery to the iconic story of Chief Brody, Hooper, and Quint, and the results more than live up to the sizable expectations built by the band's pedigree and source material.

The Ditch and the Delta - Hives in Decline

As I was perusing the ol' Töp inbox the other day, looking for promos, I came across a band described as an "exploratory sludge/math metal trio."  Suffice it to say my trousers became a smidge tighter at that combination of words, and so I downloaded the debut album from Salt Lake City's The Ditch and the Delta, Hives in Decline.  Was my semi-chub, brought on by musically erotic thoughts of an Eagle Twin/Dillinger Escape Plan sex scene, brought to full mast?  Or would I be left with doomy blue balls?

Godhunter - The Codex Narco

For a band that's only been around for six or so years, Godhunter sure has been busy.  In addition to their stellar debut full-length City of Dust, they've put out six EPs, splits, or collaborations, each of which has seen their brand of sludge pulled and tweaked in different directions.  Their newest album, Codex Narco, continues that pattern, but with another, bigger twist: after a 2015 tour, a few members of the band left amicably, leaving guitarist/vocalist David Rodgers, drummer Andy Kratzenberg, and keyboardist Matthew Davis in the band.  Rather than find new members to flesh out a lineup, the trio invited musicians from other bands to play on Codex Narco.  There's no point in burying the lede; the result is a really cool album that's rooted in Godhunter's traditional sludge sound, while still charging forward.

Lord Dying - Poisoned Altars

Metal sub-genres are often problematic endeavors.  At their best and most worthwhile, they give some vague descriptor of sound to potential listeners; at their worst they pigeonhole a band's sound so specifically that every band out there turns into their own sub-genre.  I'm glad they exist, because it can be a nice, easy way to describe a band without exerting too much effort; "Oh, you like doom metal?  You gotta check out Bell Witch (seriously, check out Bell Witch if you haven't yet)!"  At the same time, I hate that they exist because it can be damn near impossible to categorize some bands or albums.  Genres are basically a series of shifting venn diagrams that exist with the complete circle that is "Metal," and quite often a band will exist inside multiple overlapping circles.  Such is the case with Lord Dying's sophomore effort Poisoned Altars; you wouldn't be wrong to call it sludge or stoner metal, but neither of those labels properly convey what awaits you on the album.

Eyehategod - Eyehategod

With all the tumult that surrounds a band like Eyehategod, whether it is Hurrican Katrina, Mike IX Williams' substance abuse, or the loss of the band's drummer Joey LaCaze, it is a surprise we haven't had a proper full length since 2000; a whopping 14 years. This band seems to thrive in the face of negativity and that all comes across with their new album Eyehategod; a self-titled release that showcases that the band is unified under this name.