Stash

Maybe this will be an invitation, possibly a 'beware'. As follows: I'm a fucking huge fan of Eyehategod, and even though I've led a stodgy, blunt-defying, Ian Mackaye-esque lifestyle up to this point, I've always found their lo-fi, scathing sludge bizzarely inviting and (dare I say?) fun. Really. Try not rocking out to Take As Needed For Pain and see how far that gets you, rep-wise. Yeah, I'm calling you out, junior.

Anyway, if you've heard one band, you've basically heard the next, as nearly every act fitting into the NOLA-flavour sludge dome has gained membership for a very good reason. Eerily enough, this is not a negative aspect in the slightest. Well, for me at least. Bongzilla is one of my latest exposures, and it's easily climbed to the top of the ladder with it's thick, Black Sabbath-esque Southern riffing, pained vocal style, and undeniably cathartic use of anthematic bud-worship.

Unlike Eyehategod though, Bongzilla focuses a lot more on the Stoner Metal side of things, ensuing a far less heavy handed listening experience and a tasty Sleep/Iron Monkey/Soilent Green vibe. Each track features a pretty minimum amount of riffs in exchange for a slow pace, but remains head bobbingly catchy from start to finish. Although there are really no bad tracks on here, the standouts for me have been the two mostly instrumental chill-out tracks, Prohibition (4th Amendment) and the epic Harvest. Hell, if anything makes me pull out some fatties, it's going to be this kinda stuff.

Oh, and I realize that this album's pretty ancient at this point, but hey, chronological order in discography outings for the win. To round things down, if you're even remotely invested in the Sludgey New Orleans Doom sound or just want some tunes to spark to, this albums will definately fit your agenda warm and snuggily. Nothing groundbreaking, just surface dwelling kickassery.