Generally, when a band is signed to a major label, they tend to smooth out their sound a little bit.
Nobody must have told the Melvins, because their second release on Atlantic is rawer, sludgier, and more experimental.
sludge metal
Record #610: Melvins – Houdini (1993)
Across music history, there are scattered acts that never got the mainstream attention that they deserved, but they influenced legions of bands.
Bands like The Velvet Underground, of which it was once said, “[they] didn’t sell many records, but everyone who bought one went out and started a band.”
Among slow, lurching metallurgists, few bands are is influential as the Melvins.
Record #609: Mouth of the Architect – Dawning (2013)
After the crushing gorgeousness of Quietly, Mouth of the Architect got busy. Despite lineup changes, the band toured Europe, recorded EPs, and headlined a few festivals.
Then the group returned to the Midwest to record their fourth full-length, Dawning. But in comparison to Quietly’s thick, relentless avalanche of atmospheric noise, this record spends much more time flexing their melodic chops.
Record #608: Mouth of the Architect – Quietly (2008)
They say that you should never judge a book by its cover. That goes double for records.
Because if you were to look at the pastoral winter scene, gentle cursive text, and whimsical animal illustrations on the inside gatefold, you might think this would sound like a gorgeous, twee-folk Bon Iver clone.
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And while this record certainly is gorgeous, it’s beauty comes through Mouth of the Architect’s particular brand of crushing sludge metal heaviness.
Record #604: Locktender – Friederich (2018)
Caspar David Friedrich was an 18th century German painter known for his sparse, dreamlike paintings. His paintings stretch from triumph to tragedy to tranquility to torment.
And Locktender’s album that bears his name traverses through the same moods, stretching their fiery sonic palette through their interpretations of Friederich’s work.
Record #601: Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality (1971)
For my great love of metal bands that are often described as “Black Sabbath worship” (see: Pallbearer, Elder, Baroness, Isis), I’ve never dug too deep into Black Sabbath themselves beyond some superficial listens to Paranoid.
But on a recent trip to the record store, I decided to change that. Trying to decide between this record and Vol. 4, I pulled up an article that called this record the “ultra-heavy” foundation of doom, sludge, and stoner metal.
I just wasn’t expecting so much overt Christianity.
Record #517: Chelsea Wolfe – Hiss Spun (2017)
If I were to ask you to imagine a female singer-songwriter, there’s a good chance your mind would go to a subdued, pensive artist, a la Joan Baez or Julien Baker.
But lately, there’s been a crop of women whose particular brand of introspection is better accompanied by rattling, detuned guitars and a pummeling rhythm section than an acoustic guitar. Women like Kristina Esfandiari of King Woman and Chelsea Wolfe.
Record #492: Cloakroom – Time Well (2017)
As a guitarist, I sometimes bemoan modern music’s shift away from the instrument. Even modern guitar legends like St. Vincent’s Annie Clark have pivoted away from a guitar-centric approach.
But then, you have Cloakroom (who apparently live pretty close to me).
Record #373: ISIS – Wavering Radiant (2009)
By 2009, ISIS didn’t have much room to grow. Oceanic had already stripped every scale of their nu-metal origin, Panopticon had established themselves as the Platonic ideal of post-metal, and In the Absence of Truth proved that there was room for groove in their glacially paced sludge. So what could they do for their closing number?
On Wavering Radiant, they turn it all up. The heavy bits are heavier, the atmospheric passages are even spacier—Ghost Key approaches metalcore in between ambient passages. Aaron Turner’s vocal performance matches these extremes in kind. His clean vocals have never been smoother, nor have his screams so punished his throat.This disc is also much more melodic than previous outings.
Keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer has a much more prominent role here, his organ and electric piano carrying many of the lighter sections along with Jeff Caxide’s watery bass guitar. The electric guitars are riffier, occasionally flirting with classic doom metal. Aaron Harris’ drum parts frequently roll on the toms, maintaining the increased rhythm that made In The Absence of Truth so enjoyable.
While ISIS disbanded the year after (claiming they had said everything they had to say as ISIS), Wavering Radiant is impressively prescient. The quiet moments point toward Jeff, Bryant, and Harris’ work as dream metal supergroup Palms, while the crunching heaviness and Turner’s ragged screams foretell his tenure with sludge giants Sumac–both formidable projects (Palms’ debut is one of my favorite records ever, metal or otherwise). This album captures them at a time before their present careers, when, for but a fleeting moment, they were ISIS. And Wavering Radiant has all the best parts of it.
Keyboardist Bryant Clifford Meyer has a much more prominent role here, his organ and electric piano carrying many of the lighter sections along with Jeff Caxide’s watery bass guitar. The electric guitars are riffier, occasionally flirting with classic doom metal. Aaron Harris’ drum parts frequently roll on the toms, maintaining the increased rhythm that made In The Absence of Truth so enjoyable.
While ISIS disbanded the year after (claiming they had said everything they had to say as ISIS), Wavering Radiant is impressively prescient. The quiet moments point toward Jeff, Bryant, and Harris’ work as dream metal supergroup Palms, while the crunching heaviness and Turner’s ragged screams foretell his tenure with sludge giants Sumac–both formidable projects (Palms’ debut is one of my favorite records ever, metal or otherwise). This album captures them at a time before their present careers, when, for but a fleeting moment, they were ISIS. And Wavering Radiant has all the best parts of it.
Record #332: ISIS – In The Absence Of Truth (2006)
After the twin giant steps of Oceanic and Panopticon, you might criticize In the Absence of Dreaming as being too safe a bet (like the band themselves have done). But then again, who doesn’t take a second to enjoy the view after climbing a mountain?