Arriving in St. Petersburg felt like going to another planet. First off, the Russian alphabet is absolutely fascinating. It’s a mix of Greek style characters and the regular western alphabet, and seeing it on every building , automobile, and publication definitely made one feel and absorb the culture that much more.

After settling in at the club we had a chance to take a short walk and visit the savior on spilled blood cathedral. The architecture of the building was amazing. The pointed globe like structures with multi color embellishments is unlike any other place of worship we’ve seen on the tour.

Moscow was just as exciting. It was surreal standing in front of St. Basil cathedral as well as the red square. You see it in movies and news all the time but standing right there in the middle of it all was a great feeling.

Both shows were awesome. So many fans had been waiting for years to see the band and getting the chance to interact with them, you could sense their sincere gratitude to be able to finally see the show live.

With all the politics and foreign affairs between the US and Russia right now, the fans at both cities definitely made it a point to us that they didn’t care about the politics and that they wanted to put all that aside and enjoy the music. They were also very concerned as to how we viewed them as people, again because of all the shit flinging on the news. Everyone was super nice and very cool wanting to talk about music and how much the shows meant to them.

Overall, all the people we met were very hospitable and took care of us the best way possible. It was as much an honor as well as our pleasure to have been given the opportunity to play and share our style of music with the people of Russia.

Souvenirs Сувениры

Suporting Act

    ИЛ IL

Follow The Band.

Get Their Music.

Headliner

        ACID KING
  Король кислоты

Follow The Band.

Get Their Music.

We’ve been here before. One year ago, we journeyed deep into the forbidden zone, peering through the lens of Moscow photojournalist Rita Fevraleva into the dank world of the Russian heavy underground. When I heard there was something called a Sludge Convention, I was mad with curiosity. Rita’s photos of last year’s double header, Sludge Convention III in Saint Petersburg and Sludge Fest in Moscow introduced us all to a thriving community of metalheads, happily lost in the hypnotic swirl of downtuned riffs, crackling amps, and a deafening wall of sound. I think those unforgettable images of possessed souls will forever haunt me.

Now the 2017 gathering of the damned returns! Saint Sludge Convention IV was held once again on Friday May 26th in Saint Petersburg, followed by Sludge Fest in Moscow on Saturday May 27th, held in a club called Model T. I think you will agree, Rita’s snaps this time around are indeed stellar, giving us a trippy eyeful of regional heavyweights 609, C.X., ElectricJezus, Illegal Ones, Montezuma’s Revenge, and Remote.

Lovable Freaks!

I have a feeling I’d fit in just fine in this mess of misfits.

Strong Drink!

Handcrafted by Riffs ‘n’ Beers Brewery.

Groovy Merch!

Plenty of doomed discoveries right here.

Ghostly Images!

Rita’s masterful lens transports us a world away to experience memories of mayhem frozen in time.

609 (BOG/60g)

C.X.

ELECTRICJEZUS

And the crowd goes wild…

ILLEGAL ONES

MONTEZUMA’S REVENGE

REMOTE

Thus ends another successful synod of the dirging denizens of doom! No doubt we will have a chance to visit the rumbling Russian scene in the months ahead. Until then, I highly recommend diving into the cracks and fissures of the concrete and discovering the treasure trove of street doom that has made Moscow and the cities beyond such a thriving scene.

Massive.  Frightening. It’s ‘First Born,’ the debut by Volgograd-based psych-sludge band LAST DIVE.  Cover art by Alexei Kurohtin.   Get the album here.