10 Iconic Bands in the Ukrainian Sludge
Writing about sludge in Ukraine is a thankless task. Let's tick off the list. Prominent bands that have made a significant impact on this style in our country are scarce as hen`s teeth. Any information about them is also locked behind the seven seals.
Since 2007 well-known sludge bands began infesting the underground scene. There may have been bands that were remembered for their performances, but they are lost in dark secret rooms of the "Lenin Club". The real thing itself is a discussion: "What is sludge?". Is it a fusion between hardcore and doom metal, according to what the official sources tell us? May any slow heavy music with "extreme" vocals be hidden under this concept? There are dozens of bands playing accelerated, or progressive sludge, or singing in the manner of Ronnie Dio. Therefore, trying to characterize the style, I would agree with official sources.
In Ukraine, sludge is often combined with other genres, be it stoner or post-metal. In its pure form, sludge is a rare find. Its history spans over a period of 8 years. Sludge flourished in 2008, then a lull happened in 2011, and in 2014 sludge regained its popularity.
Why the situation with sludge is so sad in Ukraine? Kova of Soom answers:
"People don`t usually recognize something extra "fat" in a blink of an eye. Everyone who understands grew up on available metal genres like death / black / thrash, rarely on doom. And the saddest thing is that many of those who tried to converge into sludge, came to it from the fadcore. And, well, because no one can become "true" in this genre. If there are people who have every right to be called true, they are not those denizens of forums whereof beginner sludgers have learned about the sludge itself. They are those people who have this specific way of life: constantly looking for the stuff, to get high, like, into oblivion. Living in the world of illegal substances, having a crappy (like themselves) much hated job (those receiving a salary over 400-500 bucks can`t seem to be honest as far as their hatred for reality is concerned). Blowing all the money on the stuff and sublimating their nihilism into heavy nihilistic music as a result."
Meanwhile let`s focus on the bands.
August 6,1945 і Weed Harvest
Pioneers of sludge in Ukraine. The quartet released its demo in 2007. In 2008 the band presented a split with Schlam, Deadskin, Selbst-Morder та W.Grinders & The Hypodermic Eye. Despite the fact that the band presented quite a raw material, August 6, 1945 became a nuclear explosion for the Ukrainian metal scene. Their sludge was depressingly precise, while the riffs were thick and minimalistic.
Though instrumental breaks added the art vibe to the band's tracks, they, at the same time, somewhat spoiled the overall atmosphere. Also their recordings lacked the overloaded bass. The band, however, did probe the ground and developed their style, with the experience being quite successful. Unfortunately, August 6, 1945 broke up, without ever recording their full-fledged release.
When August 6, 1945 bit dust, Weed Harvest emerged instead. The band was founded by Dmytro, the guitarist of August 6, 1945. After some time, the newly formed band was joined by August’s vocalist Olexander. The bandmates took their previous mistakes into account, adding stoner-doom elements to Weed Harvest, making the sound heavier, slowing down the songs and bringing their sound closer to that of the band Grief. The creative achievements of the band are presented by demo recordings of 2008.
In general, however, both August 6, 1945 and Weed Harvest became the elders of the sludge scene not only in Ukraine but also in other CIS countries.
Mozergush
Among the pioneers of sludge, the stoner sludge quartet Mozergush from Donetsk is also worth mentioning. The band`s first album "Fairytail Alcotrips" was released in 2007. The second self-titled LP was released a year later on Iron Hamster Records label. And only in 2013 it was possible to buy live recordings of the band at the "Robustfest" festival.
Mozergush has influenced plenty of stoner doom and sludge Ukrainian bands. The band is still on the road, although there`s not much news to be heard from it. Their songs, as noted on Last.fm, are of drugs, girls, dreams, illusions and space. It`s hard to deny. Mozergush is one of the best sludge bands I`ve ever listened to. There is that powerful rudeness they have that makes you headbang and feel angry with the world.
Forever Wasted
A sludge band from Kyiv which can be already called old-school. Its history has begun in 2008 and ended 8 years later, followed by the release of the first and last album called ... "Forever Wasted". The band was formed of guitarists Oleh and Mykola, Kostya on bass, Serhiy (Felix Fractal) on the drums, and Anatoliy (better known as Nook) who completed the overall picture with his brilliant guttural vocals.
For me Forever Wasted is a phenomenon that came as close as possible to the classic sludge: Neurosis, Eyehategod, Crowbar and others recommended by Wikipedia. Slow riffs, calibrated exclusively from the Aeolian and Phrygian modes, plus melodic dissonances. The band released one full-length album. Also it has the split with Skruta and Foible Instinct in the discography.
Two years ago I was lucky to have a word with the drummer Serhiy. In the interview with YEP, he told about how he started playing in Forever Wasted in late 2010.
"Heh, this is the craziest band I know. We've been through a lot together – both in music and in different life situations. Literally 3 months after I got into the band, we recorded a split album with the bands Skruta and Foible Instinct. Played many local and external gigs and were the first sludge band at Metal Heads Mission. The past year (ed. 2015) we played our last gig and broke up" says Sergey.
He still does not understand why the band broke up.
Soom
This band is a child of a meat-processing plant producing fatso riffs. Those droning heavy riffs will tear your chest and pour folk motifs into the hole they left. While listening to them, I had a feeling that Soom came down from the Carpathian Mountains. However, that the band turned out to be from Kharkiv. Soom was formed in 2013. They already had 6 releases under their belt, including splits and LPs. Kova (Oleksa Bleedyi) performed on vocals, Amorth on drums, and Gerostrat on bass.
Why is this band so significant in the Ukrainian sludge? Let`s ask Kova again:
"If you listen to it attentively, you`ll dig that we play more of a hipster sludge doom, not the 0-3-5 version of it like Kasu Weri or Keepleer 18 do. So we were beyond the genre format right from the beginning. As for the second album, we have embedded rave pieces into both spokenwords and metal tracks. From bad to worse it goes. We already underway towards the heavier and more difficult-to-perceive sound. To get it clear – the sound is concerned, there will be even more thickness and even more anger. By "difficult-to-perceive" we mean embedding death metal, IDM, zeuhl and proto-industrial elements".
In general Soom musicians are into constant experimenting, overstepping the boundaries of the genre, and yet keeping the sludge base that so many of us love.
Kasu Weri
A band from Kyiv, formed in 2008. It's hard to believe, but they released the debut EP "From Soil To Ashes" a year ago. The band succinctly stated on their Bandcamp page, that they had been preparing a mini album for 8 years and recorded it in 8 hours. Although even before this significant event there were rumors on the Internet that the guys are planning to present a full-length release. But it remained an unborn ghost of Ukrainian heavy music.
As for distinction from other bands, Kasu Weri has the tempo and a dash of "southernness" in guitar parts. Like one of the fans put it – "Too much stoner and too little sludge." I can't say unequivocally whether such eclecticism is bad or good though. I like this combination but sometimes I`d rather get stuck sometimes than start a crazy dance.
Keepleer 18
It is a crazy quartet from Chernihiv, formed back in 2012. Other members (from different line-ups) emerged in the sludge harbor, making it to the shore from other bands, like Die! Pig, Remorse, Опять Мигрень ("Migraine again"), GROMM, Dan Stark. The band released its LP "Vammifiaa" in 2018.
Fans of Weedeater, Torche and Mammoth, will definitely find some familiar and "tube" sound while listening to Keepleer 18. Quarter notes are there, prepping you for the parties, accelerated eights that help you get in the mood for dancing, while pentatonic licks are also there – just for the beauty.
The vocalist sings something incomprehensible, but if there is this song called "Lakkan", one can guess it`s about something philosophical. His expressive voice is the band`s zest and time a separate high frequency instrument at the same. Dave Collins, serves us right.
Ningen-girai
This one-man-band can`t be labeled as the one having a unique sound. It is absolutely "standard" and most guitar riffs are recognizable for those familiar with the style. But the fact that all the music is composed by one guy from Cherkasy, well composed to be true, makes me want to give a sincere applause to his talent.
In total, Ningen-girai has made it to two EPs and two splits. And his track "Mold" was included in the last year`s compilation "Electric Funeral Cafe Vol.III."
You`d put on this dark record from Cherkasy when everything is said and done and all that remains is biting heads off. But of all the Ukrainian sludge I heard, Ningen-girai proves to be one of the most depressing and atmospheric.
Onsager
This young band from Khmelnitsky saw the light of day in 2014 due to university friendship.
"We are united in a robust and steady trio having passed through influence of genres that go far beyond the usual formats and ordinary song structures. Experiments with sound, combining progressive sounding with minimalism, fast riff changes and temps – this is how our music can be described" – this is what their Bandcamp page says.
Despite band`s young age, the trio proved their ability to surprise and keep the tension. Simply put, the band does not pay lip service, labeling themselves as a progressive band. The sludge "chewing gum" changes into fast hardcore punk in their compositions. What can easily be expected after that, is a black metal tremolo or a lyrical post-metal digression. It really grasps your attention while listening. The chromatic and dissonance "evil" parts are at your service, with no out-of-this-world escapades, no vivacious blues licks.
Drunk Diver
The most interesting combo I`ve ever heard: grindcore plus sludge. This music couldn`t be born elsewhere but in creative Lviv. As Facebook tells us, there are three members in the band: Pinya on vocals, Fly Agaric on guitar and Donbas on drums. The guys rarely play gigs, but every live performance is like a Christmas morning. Despite that fact, the guys released four full-length albums: "C2H5OH" (2013), "Seven Ways to Make Satan Laugh" (2016), "God Eternal" (2018) and "Палеоліт" (2018).
According to their philosophy, grind and sludge are close: hedonism, fun and frenzy. Simply put, this is music for psychotherapists. The combo itself is already accounted for something "that" exciting. Surprisingly, Drunk Diver has neither machine-gun bursting guitars, nor endless blastbeat. As for the grindcore part, the band successfully borrowed the breakdowns and characteristic pig squeal from it.
Feels like they were really about making music, not just burning out for fun.
Torf
One more band from Lviv, born in 2011. Any detailed information about the band is hard to find. 2012 saw the band`s EP "Doomed Youth". The band was a three piece one, with Pavlo on guitar, Ivan on bass and Oleg "Atanas" on vocals. Kova was also a session musician on vocals.
Here`s what Bandcamp tells us about the "Doomed Youth":
"it’s about generation that had dreamed to be astronauts, but came to be little apes, serving the system instead".
Torf has a lot of space and psychedelic vibe in its music. The astronaut on the cover is totally accounted for this. The sludge base is "adorned" with the impressive guitar (in every way). Some pieces are groovy, and some are punkish-fast and galloping. Torf is probably the brightest proof of sludge in its pure form to be rare in Ukraine. It`s like they are stamped "sludge" on their bodies with the bodies themselves being modified.
Torf had disbanded, so attending their gigs isn`t an option anymore.
Bonus - Porfyryi (Порфирий)
A mysterious loner from Kyiv, a trickster, a hoaxer and a good man. In 2016, he recorded one album "Bread and Moloch" ("Хлеб и Молох"), listing such tracks: "Homophobic Zombies" ("Зомби-гомофобы"), "Pavlik`s Doggy" ("Цуцик Павлика"), "Grace" ("Благодать"), "Scarlet Jihad" ("Алый Джихад"), "Empires heat up Furnaces" ("Империи греют печи").
The description of "Bread and Moloch" is also a gratifying one:
"Porfyryi condescended through the retrospect of time to lead people to fighting against the world enslavement. A very anti-imperialistic album, with the elements of a transgender solipsism and vindication of sexual homosexuals. The "Grace" makes it clear that the Doomsday is so close".
The music is a total mix of sludge, black, electronics and crust-punk. A quick-and-dirty and half-ass recording, but this eclectic stuff is a pleasant listening.
The project deserves to be on the list, while being a proof that sludge is not only a metal genre but the way of living. Troll yourself and free yourself by this. Gather all the style elements, then deconstruct them totally.
Lastly, let`s not waste words. Sludge is a young child of the Ukrainian scene. One has to surf through the Internet long and hard to find local sludge bands. However, each band is a self-sufficient phenomenon. It`s a true story that our bands can`t be pigeonholed as sludge, considering the framework created by their foreign fellows in arms. But, perhaps, within this very eclecticism lies the potential to draw the listeners` attention.
We`d like to believe that sludge will have its wings unfolded in the future and we`ll get massive amounts of good product that will find its listeners abroad.
This article is part of a series of materials on the development of various underground musical genres in Ukraine. Early in the series:
https://www.neformat.com.ua/rubrika/10-znakovih-gurtiv
Cover - Anastasia Inri
