Tag: sludge metal
Fresh Fridays: Melvins/Napalm Death Collab, Snail Mail and Immolation
Danny Ryan
April 10, 2026
Happy Janky Fresh Friday! This week we had a surpring new release of Melvins’ and Napalm Death’s collaborative album “Savage Imperial Death March”, blessing the world with a psychedelic freeform experience that is not at all what most would expect from either of these bands until you hear it- and then it all makes sense in an odd way. It’s an absolute beast of a record and near impossible to explain, but we are going to try our best to break it down anyways. We were also blessed recently with new releases by Immolation and Snail Mail. Diverse and unexpected sounds are on the menu this Fresh Friday. Let’s get into it. related: Fresh Friday’s – Thundercat, Sun O))) and Arlo Parks Melvins & Napalm Death: Savage Imperial Death March (released April 10, 2026)- Ipecac Recordings related: The Smell Of Napalm Death at Belasco The Melvins and Napalm Death are both metal bands that transcended their genres completely, both being associated more with alternative music and punk rock in modern times for how experimental they are rather than how heavy they are. The most ironic part about this being that both bands are objectively more heavy than most anyone else in
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Eyehategod and Crowbar at Ventura Music Hall: Sludge for the Social Media Age
Rob Shepyer
April 6, 2026
On March 27, 2026, I witnessed a rare performance by Crowbar at Ventura Music Hall opening for the almighty Eyehategod and it made me ask the question- how well do social media and heavy metal truly mesh? It’s nice to see our favorite bands gain exposure and release content for us all to enjoy, but is anything lost in the transaction when a band subjects themselves to tap dancing for mass media? In the case of Crowbar, they’ve gained quite a bit of notoriety from TikTok after their song “Repulsive in Its Splendid Beauty” went viral and meme-ified the band into music made for big boys who ride hogs and take no shit. The virality of the band didn’t just lead to exposure, though. It translated into ticket and merchandise sales that are noticeable to everyone in the know. related: Fresh Fridays: Neurosis, ADULT., Këkht Aräkh, Flea, and King Tuff Crowbar is a legendary band, and the song was a classic off a sludge metal masterpiece long before TikTok was developed. They didn’t need this bump in fame to cement their status as heroes in the worlds of sludge metal or their hometown of New Orleans, Louisiana. related: Acid Bath
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Acid Bath at Hollywood Palladium: Venus Blues and Bayou Sludge
Rob Shepyer
August 29, 2025
Acid Bath was the one band no one thought would ever reunite. They were a flash in the pan at one point, considered a glitch in heavy metal history—yet simultaneously, they were the band everyone wanted to be and emulate, the band that inspired subgenres from the edges of extremity to the depths of doom and across the entire spectrum of stoner rock and roll. That’s why Acid Bath’s show at the Hollywood Palladium on August 22nd was charged with much more power and gravitas than a typical reunion. It was a moment written in stone, acknowledging that the kings of the New Orleans heavy music scene would one day return to their rightful thrones. The anticipation had been building for years among fans who never truly believed this day would come. The venue itself seemed to understand the weight of the occasion. The Hollywood Palladium, with its storied history of hosting legendary performances, provided the perfect backdrop for what would become a defining moment in heavy music. As fans filed into the historic theater, there was an electric tension in the air—a mixture of disbelief, excitement, and the kind of reverence typically reserved for religious experiences. related – Memoirs
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