666 PACK REVIEW: The Best of the "666 PACK REVIEW" 2019

By: Nikos Mixas

If you’ve been paying attention, the 666 Pack Review is an abbreviated review column mostly focused on very new bands or bands that have submitted demo material to THE SLUDGELORD.  The basic premise is that 6 bands are critiqued using only 6 words and on a scale from 1 to 666.  What you see below is the best of the year 2019 for the “666 Pack Review”.  There were 8 bands that received the highest of ratings so please go show them some love by revisiting their music and their web pages.  We at THE SLUDGELORD hope great things come to them.  Congrats and hails to those bands that made the list!  May 2020 be sludgier and heavier!

January – There were two 666’s! (Does that make it 1332 or 121212?)

ILS “Pain Don’t Hurt” (Portland, U.S.A.)

This band won the Portland trophy. 

Yuxa “Yuxa” (Brighton, United Kingdom) 

If Godflesh kicked the industrial habit…

February

Seed of the Sorcerer, Womb of the Witch “Spell Book I: Ceridwen” (Denver, U.S.A.)

Guitar tone alone worth the 666!  

April

Mireplaner “A Mountain of Saola Hooves” (Finland)

Guaranteed to cardiac arrest old people.

May

Inhuman Nature “Inhuman Nature” (London, United Kingdom)

Sexy thrash ala the Bay Area!

August

Old Horn Tooth “From The Ghost Grey Depths” (London, U.K.)

God-doom fucking-tastic start to the month!

September

MUNT “Towards Extinction” (Melbourne, Australia)

Fucking hate on the barbie mate!

October

Adliga “Kali Paćjače Njeba” (Minsk, Belarus) 

Belarus for the win!  Отлично comrades!

6 NEW BANDS: THE SLUDGELORD's "666 Pack Review" (January 2019)

By: Nikos Mixas

We made it to another year and January 2019’s edition of THE SLUDGELORD’s “666 Pack Review” is here to celebrate all that is sludgy, heavy and brand fucking new!  There are some huge releases coming out this year, so will this carry over to THE SLUDGELORD’s “666 Pack Review”?  We shall see…  If you’re new to this, each and every month we handpick 6 review submissions and critique them by only using 6 words, then we rate them on a scale from 1 to 666!  Check out our cold as fuck rating scale below: 

1 – If I had a choice to listen to this, or jump into a frozen lake, I’d take the frozen lake.

2 – It is said that whiskey will make you forget that it’s cold out, not too sure about that but it’ll sure help me forget about this band…    
3 – This is the equivalent of can of warm chicken soup when it’s freezing outside.  It kind of does the trick, but not really.  
4 – The feeling you get seeing High on Fire and there’s a blizzard happening outside.       
5 – This will get your ticket punched for purgatory, I heard it’s warm, happy and sludgy there.    
666 – THE SLUDGELORD commends you for warming our bitter and cold heart this month!

Caveat:  Even though the “666 Pack Review” is meant to offer humorous critique, there are no safe spaces here and your gripes will only make you sound like a bellyacher.  THE SLUDGELORD is a picky listener…and doesn’t care what you think of his opinions…

1). Weird Tales “Hell Services Cost a Lot” (Warsaw, Poland)    Rating: 5

Polish Sludge Metal Rules.  Who knew?

2). Hair Puller “Old Friend” (Portland, U.S.A.)   Rating: 4

Chuggy, screamy, their name is appropriate.

3). ILS “Pain Don’t Hurt” (Portland, U.S.A.)   Rating: 666!

This band wins the Portland trophy. 

4). Withered Fist “This is My Mountain” (County Tipperary, Ireland)   Rating: 5

Soundgarden with sludgey, doomtastic mountainic groove.

5). Yuxa “Yuxa” (Brighton, United Kingdom)   Rating: 666!

If Godflesh kicked the industrial habit…

6). Drofnosura “Voidfever” (Toronto, Canada)   Rating: 4

Eclectic doom, a taste of YOB

Band info: Weird Tales || Hair Puller || ILS || Drofnosura