
Gone, but not forgotten.
-- Sludgehammer --
10/04/2020
Stijn Daneels

Album genres:
■ | Melodic death metal |
■ | Groove metal |
Album artists:
■ | Josh Stephney | Vocals |
■ | Jeff Wilson | Guitar |
■ | Tyler Williams | Guitar |
■ | Dan Ayers | Bass |
■ | Fernando Villalobos | Drums |
Review written by Glenn “Terra Shredder” Van Bockstaele.
Sludgehammer was a Canadian groove metal band with death metal
influences. Indeed, I say was, since Sludgehammer disbanded in October 2019. I
was not aware of their split-up while preparing this review and I don’t like
wasting any shredding, so here it goes!
Their final album “Antechamber,” is released independently and sent to
us by Asher Media Relations. It succeeds their 2016 debut album “The Fallen
Sun.” The album kicks off greatly with the epic opening “No Control,” featuring
a mix of great guttural vocals and high soaring cleans along with blast beats
and melodic guitar riffs, all going back and forth. And that’s Sludgehammer’s
style in a nutshell. “Broken Sea” is a solid track whose main ingredients are
the duet between the clean and harsh vocals and the excellent guitar work in
the middle part.
The album continues with “Climatic Death,” a groovy track with plenty of
melodic interludes and another variety of solid vocals. A standout track on
this release is “Forsaken Souls,” a badass neck breaker tune with furious
groove metal beats. “Balance of Life” is a true speedster of a track with a catchy
chorus. “The Long Road” features a sweet balance with blast beats and harsh
riffs and melodic cool downs. “Eternal Darkness” opens up with a grinding riff
quickly backed up by a sweet guitar solo and then the song gallops along
nicely. “Supernova Silhouette” features all the typical Sludgehammer
ingredients extended to an 8-minute track with some acoustic guitar sections
and finally “Line ‘Em Up” offers one final sweet groove metal jam before the
release ends.
With the exception of some excellent tracks like “No Control,” “Climatic
Death” and “Forsaken Souls” the rest of the album is a little bit disappointing.
The other songs on the album are solid but it feels like a being there, done
that job. While offering nothing new under the sun, Sludgehammer’s final album
is a solid release for those looking for some melodic death metal spiced with
groove and progressive metal. “No Control” required!
70/100