SHORT BUT SWEET: SLUG SALT LAVA — “RADIATED SOUNDSCAPES”

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  1 Response »
Dec 312014
 

SLUG SALT LAVA

I first encountered Slug Salt Lava (from Istanbul, Turkey) in the early fall of this year, when their First-Promo rumbled my innards and captivated my mind (I reviewed it here). They’ve now released a new EP entitled Radiated Soundscapes, and these five new songs have only strengthened my affection for what they’re doing.

The music is entirely instrumental in a style that straddles sludge, stoner, and doom. Consistent with the band’s post-apocalyptic thematic concept for the music, the melodies have a dismal atmosphere and the pacing never accelerates past a mid-paced rumble, but guitarist Ersin Taş again shows a talent for concocting fat, fuzzy riffs that have a way of taking up residence in your mind — while getting your head bobbing to their beat. Continue reading »

SCULPTED IN TAR: MOLOCH, HAGGATHA, SLUG SALT LAVA

 Album Reviews, SHORT BUT SWEET  2 Responses »
Sep 052014
 

In this globe-trotting post I’m reviewing a recent split release by Moloch from Nottingham, England, and Haggatha from Vancouver, Canada, as well as a January 2014 EP by Slug Salt Lava from Istanbul, Turkey. When you hear the songs, you’ll probably understand why I grouped them together under the heading “Sculpted In Tar”.

MOLOCH

The Moloch / Haggatha 7″split was released earlier this year by an unholy triumvirate of Dry Cough Records (UK), Graanrepubliek Records (Netherlands), and Choking Hazard Records (Canada). If you order from Dry Cough’s Bandcamp page (here), you’ll also get an immediate digital download of the split.

Moloch’s track is named “Head of Coil”, and it follows the band’s 2013 splits with Meth Drinker and Ensorcelor. The word “crushing” gets thrown around with abandon, like spit in a mosh pit, but “Head of Coil” is crushing. The fuzz-bombed riffs and powerhouse drum beats hit like a slow-motion bridge collapse, and the people trapped in those cars as they descend into the yawning chasm below — they’re screaming; you hear them in the furious vocals and the squalling feedback. To repeat: crushing. Continue reading »