SLUDGE

SLUDGE Announce US And Further European Release Dates

Sun, 11 May 2008 12:07:12 -0700

Lava, the new album from Swiss doom metallers SLUDGE which was released in some parts of Europe at the beginning of the month, will see it’s release in the US and Germany on the 12th of May, to be followed by Italy on the 26th. Dates for its release in Greece, Hungary and Australia are still to be announced.

The band will perform live at the official launch party for Lava which is set to take place at Le Romandie in the band’s hometown of Lausanne, Switzerland, on the 16 May. The album is released on the Mighty Music label and features two new members – Ulik on bass and Odin (HOUSTON SWING ENGINE, UNFOLD) on vocals. Much to the band’s surprise, they found themselves at No 1 in the Metal Charts of music networking site, www.fuzz.com, and No 3 in the Punk Charts. Commented bass player Ulik “Metal is understandable, but Punk was completely unexpected. Still, we’re happy that we seem to be reaching such a large cross-section of fans”.

Formed by SAMAEL guitarist Makro, the band had been streaming various tracks from the new album on their MySpace page for a limited period, but due to the response they have been receiving from fans, they have decided to extend the streaming for a few more weeks, and have now uploaded the three most popular tracks including the title track “Lava”. The three tracks, together with others from previous albums, can be heard at www.myspace.com/sludgedoomers.

Worldwide Release Dates For “Lava”

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 10:53:58 -0700

The wait will soon be over! Here are the release dates for “Lava”

Check out the MySpace page HERE to hear some of the tracks in advance, and enjoy the video for “60mm” below.

Benelux – 28th of April

Switzerland – 5th of May

France – 9th of May

UK – 5th of May

Sweden – 5th of May

Norway – 5th of May

Italy – 26th of May

Poland – 5th of May

USA – 12th of May

Spain – 5th of May

Finland – 5th of May

Germany – 12th of May

Denmark – already released

Greece, Hungary, Australia - TBA

SLUDGE: Next 3 Songs From Upcoming Album Available For Streaming

Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:07:09 -0700

Following on from the first streaming of three tracks from their forthcoming album "Lava", Swiss doom metallers SLUDGE will this weekend make available another three tracks on their My Space page. "Idi Na Hui", "Below (Litanies Of Satan)" and "Machine" are the tracks that will replace the currently featured "60 MM", "Carnivore" and "Lava" on Sunday, March 30.

Antenna Metal Magazine - Interview SLUDGE

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:29:28 -0700

March 26th, 2008
Switzerland’s Sludge hardly plays the expectable type of metal, most dominantly because you’ll barely find more than a handful metal-bands from the small country at all, but likewise due to the unconventional approach to a vast array of subgenres of metal in general. Sludge’s Makro is moreover involved with Samael, and since I met that band, including Makro, during one of their concerts years ago, I was a willing interviewer following the release of Sludge’s new album Lava.

Makro interviewed via email by Lolk

Almost four years have passed since Yellow Acid Rain. New members have joined Sludge and your new album, Lava, is out this month on Mighty Music. Please elaborate on what has happened to the band in the last few years and the story behind the new line-up.
- Right after the release of Yellow Acid Rain we went through some line-up changes, since our former singer Nick and bass player Picasso, decided to quit music for another career. Sludge never had line-up changes before that, so we started to look for some ‘fresh elements’ and finally found ‘em; Odin on vocals and Ulik on bass. We knew Odin from his former band Unfold since we toured with them in the past and he’s actually the most powerful human tube-screamer I’ve ever heard. Ulik comes from Ukraine and when I first saw him at the local store, I didn’t even know if he was playing an instrument or not, but for whatever reason I thought ‘this is the guy we need’ and it was a match. Then I started to write some music and worked with those new elements in the band, ’till we’ve reached what makes the Sludge of today.

Yellow Acid Rain was released on the Danish label Mighty Music and the same applies to Lava. Mighty Music has, however, been dormant for a few years in-between releases. Why did you decide to cooperate with that label again and what can you possibly gain from such a small label?
- At the time when I’ve sent the demos from Yellow Acid Rain to labels, I didn’t mention to anyone that I was playing with Samael. I just wanted to have people involved in the music of the band in first place. We decided to sign with Mighty Music for such reason and also because it was an interesting deal since they proposed us a two album deal which is a guarantee of ‘freedom’. So, we signed for two albums and Lava is the second option due to the company. What will happen next depends pretty much on this album.

If you were appointed to describe the difference between Yellow Acid Rain and Lava, what would you reply?
- In my opinion Yellow Acid Rain has pretty good songs, but I think the final result and the short timing to mix it, made it maybe a bit too monolithic. It has a charm, but it doesn’t make me feel like going often through the whole album. Lava is a much more diverse album. I did experiment with more things on it and this fact involved with the line-up change has considerably transformed the colour of our music.

What can you tell our readers about the writing, recording process, and musical/lyrical concept of Lava on an overall level?
- I’m mostly doing all the music at home and then, together with the band, we adapt it to everyone’s style, we discuss things and make some changes. Actually you can catch a few short clips about the making of the album in the video section of our MySpace page. The newest thing for us in the recording/writing process is on the song "Idi Na Huy" which we created and recorded during the studio sessions and I asked also our drummer to improvise some percussion parts on "The End". One day Ulik’s wife, Oksana, came to the studio once we were recording. She used to be a professional singer and once I heard them speaking together in Russian, I thought it sounded good so I asked her if she’d like to say something on one song in Russian, so you can hear her on the song "Inquisition" which is one of my favourite songs of the album. Regarding the lyrics, Odin is writing most of them but for a few songs we wrote ‘em together. It’s really a collaboration, we’re not aiming a particular concept, we’re just trying to give words an impact which fits to the music. We’ve also been using a text called "Les Litanies de Satan" from Charles Baudelaire, which was translated by Edgar Alan Poe, for a very special song which is "Below".

Sludge vs. Sludge

When speaking about ’sludge’ in metal, it connotes a musical outlet closely linked to doom/hardcore, especially from the Southern US. Why did you settle on that band name in the first place and how appropriate is it to be named after a subgenre in metal?
- When we’ve formed Sludge, we were a lot into bands such as Neurosis, Cathedral, Entombed or The Melvins… We felt like we wanted to create the heaviest and darkest music we could. Then when it came to choosing a name for the band, we agreed on Sludge. We liked the meaning of it, since we thought it was matching very well with the music we were making and the other point was that we wanted a name catchy and easy to assimilate. Actually, when we did choose that name, we didn’t even know that there was a music scene or style called this way. At the time, such a scene wasn’t in existence in the way as we know it today. We even had a few interviews where people was thinking that we were the source of it. On my personal taste, I would certainly have a good laugh if I come to hear or see that a band is called ‘heavy metal’ or ‘neo-metal’. But I really don’t mind having a band called Sludge, since it wasn’t on purpose and I like it.

How do you prioritize Sludge compared to Samael and what your main ambitions with the band that is obviously less known on the scene than Samael?
- I’m doing my best with both bands. But it’s not always easy to be able to make things happen for both. I’m making a living of it with Samael, then of course there’s a certain priority going with it. Also now that Sludge is kind of reborn, I feel like pushing it as far as it can be, but most of all I’d like to preserve the pleasure I have to do music and Sludge is a big part of it.

Samael vs. Sludge

What’s the newest buzz from Samael and what can we expect from that band in the near future?
- We have a European tour starting in April, then we’re gonna play a few summer festivals and we have also plans for touring the US in September. We have already started as well to work on a few ideas for the next album, which should be the beginning of a new chapter in the musical history of the band.

What other musical activities are you involved with, besides Samael and Sludge?
- I’m interested in mixing as well, and I guess I’ll give it a try for the next album of Sludge. I also did live sound for friends of mine and I’m a bit of a producer too…

What’s the current status of Switzerland’s metal scene?
- Switzerland is a strange country split into three different parts: German, French and Italian. So it’s difficult to speak of a proper Swiss metal scene, since when a French talking band goes to play in the German part, it’s kind of like playing in another country. For example, in my hometown [approx. 150.000 people] such scene is almost non-existing. I only know two metal bands here, including Sludge.

Please finalize this conversation by giving our readers a heartfelt goodbye!
- Hey everyone; Sludge is what I do with my heart and guts. It’s metal, rough, dirty and heavy, so if you like those elements, I think you shall appreciate it. Thank you very much for your support and take care!

SLUDGE Stream Songs From New Album "Lava"

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 03:51:35 -0700

Especially for all our fans we will make a total of six, out of the nine tracks from our forthcoming album, available for streaming on MySpace. Due for release April/May on the Mighty Music label, "Lava" will be the band’s fourth full-length release and the follow up to the 2004 release "Yellow Acid Rain".

Founded ten years ago by Samael guitarist Makro and drummer Pud, the band recently underwent personnel changes with the arrival of new bass player Ulik and vocalist Odin (HOUSTON SWING ENGINE, Unfold). Produced by Makro, the new album is, according to him, “Dirty, un-compromising and heavy as shit”.

The first three tracks to be made available will be "60mm", “Carnivore” and “Lava”. A further 3 tracks will be made available on Sunday 30th.

New live video - SLUDGE- To The Wind [Neurosis cover]

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 09:59:56 -0700

PRE-ORDER "LAVA" NOW!

Sun, 09 Mar 2008 15:37:44 -0700

You can pre-order "LAVA" right now at Mighty Music's mailorder which provides our cd's worldwide, with the friendliest prices and facilities...
Get it here:SLUDGE - LAVA

Track list:
1.60 MM 03:03
2.Idi Na Hui 03:48
3.Lava 07:12
4.Carnivore 04:18
5.Below (Litanies Of Satan) 07:26
6.Monolith 04:54
7.Machine 04:43
8.Inquisition 08:42
9.The End 04:34

Now Sludge and on Last FM

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 07:01:03 -0800

Follow this lien - Sludge Sludge personal profile

Sludge's "Lava" new album, cover artwork revealed

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:26:39 -0800

Pre-order Sludge's new album "Lava" now!

Sludge - Sun That Never Sets (Neurosis cover)

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 04:49:34 -0800

Live video from Lausanne Burning VIII

Lausanne Burning Festival sold out!

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 10:02:31 -0800

Tonight Sludge plays reprises Neurosis.
Here video from a rehearsal room....

To the Wind &

Sun That Never Sets

TOP 10

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:55:00 -0800

Hey Fellas! A small one to tell that thanks to you we've reached the top ten metal bands on fuzz.com,so stay tuned because some fresh stuff is coming very soon. Cheers!

Video report from concert 23.06.07 - Sierre,CH

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 02:12:21 -0800

Video report from studio [Vocal session recording]

Sun, 18 Nov 2007 15:15:52 -0800

Video report from studio [Bass session recording]

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 05:11:34 -0800

Video report from studio [Guitar session recording]

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 04:34:39 -0800

Video report from studio (Drum session recording)

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:21:29 -0800

Have a look at Scarecrow Messiah video

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 08:27:11 -0800

Check now our mixtape

Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:06:03 -0700

New album being mastered with Alan Douches (Mastodon, Converge...)

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:33:08 -0700

Hi fellas! Our new album is currently in the hands of alan douches (mastodon, converge, neurosis..) who's gonna take care of the mastering duties.. We expect a release date for january/february 2008. So, stay tuned, some fresh stuff is coming.. Hell yeah!

Alan Douches - http://www.westwestsidemusic.com/alan.htm