HARDWARES

First things first: it’s easy to dismiss this band because of its name, but if you can get past the lazy and, frankly, pretty dumb moniker, you’ll be rewarded with a very solid slab of old school, Swedish-inspired death metal. Though Sludge isn’t as profusely archetypal as, say, Bloodbath (but, really, who is?), Sludge still revels in the Sunlight Studios disposition and that becomes no surprise once you realize that these Swiss dudes recorded their debut EP and full-length with Tomas Skogsberg during the late ‘90s. Lava is a mighty collection indeed, this group surrounding itself with down-tuned mega riffs, all the while drawing on speed whenever necessary to vitalizing result. So, yeah, combine Entombed, Disfear, Dismember and Vicious Art into a bracing unit and you’ve got Sludge, ready to deathify all who tread here. Of note: Sludge features Makro from Samael, but Sludge is so far removed from his main band it’s not even funny.