Release Date: 08th December 2023. Record Label: Self Released.. Formats: DD
SP/LIT - Tracklisting
1.At War With The Sun - The Garden 09:54
2.Slump - Dust 03:19
3.Slump - Kneel 07:16
SLUMP - Members
David Kabbouri Lara - drums
Olly Lawrence - bass
Matt Noble - vocals, guitar
At War With The Sun - Members
Karl Bicknell - Bass
Alex Keen - Drums
Jon Weatherill - Guitar and Vocals
Review
SP/LIT is the new split EP release from Death/Doom/Sludge Metallers At War WIth The Sun and Doom/Stoner Metallers Slump which features two bands with stark contrasting visions to each other. At War With The Sun brings a Death based despair to their blend of Doom/Sludge Metal which remains constantly downbeat and aggressive throughout which appeals to fans such as Khanate and THOU. Slump play music that’s inspired by the good old days of KYUSS, Alice In Chains and Crowbar
At War With The Sun’s track The Garden is a Death/Doom musical odyssey powered by slow paced heavy monolithic tones with a subtle Sludgy Metal sound that is quite seedy which has an air of Prog Metal within the song. The band still show a fine destructive Doom/Sludge Metal appetite which occasionally ventures into Blackened Stoner sounds but the harsh vocals from Jon Weatherill allows the song to retain it’s hollow and earthly desolate Death/Doom vibe. The long drawn out Sludgy guitars have a vicious level of FUZZY atmospherics before changing into more Psychedelic flavours that I didn’t expect.
The two tracks from Slump are what you expect for a band influenced by the 90’s Doom/Sludge Metal scene with a healthy appetite of seedy Grunge vibes. There’s a Alt-Rock/Alt-Metal flavour appearing within their first track Dust which also expands into Punk Rock sounds that remind me of The Offspring in places. Though, Dust retains its Doom/Stoner Metal credentials which also has a familiar UK Underground flow to the track.
Slump’s final track Kneel goes down the GRUNGE rabbit hole using bands such as Alice In Chains and Soundgarden for inspiration in places. However, the sudden appearance of NOLA sounding Sludge/Stoner Metal guitar passages moves from one highly atmospheric passage to the next. The instrumental work can be quite Psychedelic for the most part with the vocals having that off-kilter PUNK ROCK approach before exploding into Harsh Growls which gives Slump an almost similar style to At War With The Sun in places.
SP/LIT is a well observed and superbly constructed release that features two great bands from the UK Doom/Sludge Metal underground scene. Both bands offer a different style of music to each other but the EP also makes perfect sense why the bands decided to release SP/LIT. As they both have similar sounds to each within the heaviest and filthiest parts of the EP.
At War With The Sun and Slump have delivered the goods with this great SP/LIT release.
At War With The Sun Links
Slump Links
Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram
