For all that is possible within the realms of sludge metal, it can oftentimes feel as though there aren’t that many new names cropping up out there that are able to tap into that very potential. An inherently intense sound that has a lot of versatility when put in the hands of the capable, there’s very little that can be properly compared to the likes of well-done sludge that goes for the throat but is far more than a meandering journey through misplaced rage. A rising name in the sound, Ireland’s Ten Ton Slug has been capitalizing on that potential since day one, and it’s now with their first full-length album that they can properly stretch their legs and show the world their gastropodic fury.
Having built up their reputation as a name in the burgeoning Irish scene as a force not to be reckoned with, Ten Ton Slug’s reputation certainly precedes it. The seven-year gap since their last EP, however, has certainly made a few nervous thinking that the act had gone silent or off the radar with those worries thankfully ill-founded with the arrival of “Colossal Oppressor” cause for celebration for many. Such joy could not be any more well-placed! “Colossal Oppressor” is a massive eight-track titan that doesn’t play around for so much as a millisecond with Ten Ton Slug throwing their weight around at every given opportunity through immense heaviness that is no less than acidic to the touch and downright infectious once its devilish rhythms land upon your ears. It becomes exceedingly clear extremely quick that Ten Ton Slug spent the silent years honing their already magnificent craft to an utterly deadly degree to ensure that their first full-length isn’t some limp attempt at greatness. Rather, “Colossal Oppressor” seizes the opportunity to deliver excellence unbound! A staggering display of power and prowess the likes of which sludge metal is always in demand for, Ten Ton Slug does far more than rise to the occasion to show us what they’re made of and demonstrate for the absolute entirety of this creation that they are not an entity whose glory is to be denied.
Where many seek to climb the ranks of sludge, Ten Ton Slug’s own rise is the very definition of meteoric. Where potential was laid forth and heaviness damn near prophesized, this is an act that has managed to live up to expectations while simultaneously blow them all out of the water to such a tremendous degree that one is left all but staggered. Where excellence was assured, “Colossal Oppressor” delivers at every possible turn.
“Colossal Oppressor” releases on May 1st!
LISTEN to an advanced track from “Colossal Oppressor” on Bandcamp here.
LIKE Ten Ton Slug on Facebook here.
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