Sludgehammer comes from the great city of
Toronto, which is both my hometown and one of the greatest metal cities on
earth (especially right now). Much like quite a few bands from this scene,
Sludgehammer has a sound that can’t quite be summed up as simply as one
subgenre. They incorporate a number of different modern elements, ranging from death
metal, to thrash metal, to groove metal (with other occasional influences
creeping in). “The Fallen Sun” is their debut full-length, and is 55-minutes of
headbanging good fun. It doesn’t matter too much which sound Sludgehammer is
playing, because they’re more than competent with all of them.
In general, the vocals move between
excellently executed growls to a throatier style of singing. The former is
better than the latter, simply because it’s difficult to mess up this style of
vocals. The singing isn’t bad by any means, and it could be said that it is
both unique and it fits the music, but it’s certainly not virtuosic, nor does
it match up with some of the more distinctive singers that are not technically
the best (Mustaine, Shelton, Scalzi, and others come to mind).
Where Sludgehammer really shines is in
their guitar playing, which has ability to offer a plethora of different riffs,
as well as some smoking solos. The coolest guitar work is the opening to “Carrion
Eater”, which takes a sharp left turn from much of the rest of the album to
channel influence from Running Wild. Indeed, this section clearly features a pirate-influenced
melody, which is sure to put a smile on the face of any old-school speed metal
fans. The solos tend to be equally tasty, with some impressive playing. The
band does a good job of not going overboard in terms of technicality, but still
has skillful enough playing that the listener is left impressed.
The difficulty with “The Fallen Sun” is
that it’s simply too much. Yes, there are a lot of different things happening
here, but it can be hard to latch onto with so many different styles and
sounds. On the one hand, there are some really great moments, clearly
influenced by the bands of the 1980s and early 1990s, but then there are also a
lot more sections that would appeal to fans of modern metal, and generally
speaking, those two fanbases do not mix. This is only amplified over the long
running time of the record. Sadly, I tend to fall into the former category in
terms of personal taste, so while I recognize that Sludgehammer has a lot going
for them, “The Fallen Sun” isn’t quite what I’m looking for in metal.
Be sure to check out and like Sludgehammer on Facebook!
Highlight
"Carrion Eater"
Final Rating
3.5/5 or 70%.
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