EP Review: Slump/At War With The Sun - SP/LIT
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
There was a time when the split release was all the rage but, like tape trading and sanity, they seem to have fallen into the annals of history, a relic of a bygone era. But you do occasionally get a couple of bands pooling their pocket money and popping out a record, and SP/LIT is one such example.
Midlands bands At War With the Sun and Slump have joined forces and each contributed ten-minutes of music to this EP, exploring the doomier and more sludgy aspects of the Metal genre.
First up is Worcestershire trio, At War with the Sun for their contribution, The Garden. A contemplation on the fall of man, it begins with jangling notes and the increasing sound of blowing wind. The slow, deliberate build reaches a crescendo of dense, ringing chords and heavy cymbals, creating a sombre atmosphere through My Dying Bride tones and Alex Keen’s glacial drumming. Guitarist, Joel Weatherill, unleashes some inhuman howls to accompany the noise, and each cycle of the riff is heavier than the last, reducing in tempo until the track lumbers at a funereal pace. The instrumental passages are so filled with despair that it feels like the jaws of the underworld are about to open and swallow us whole. With ex-Master Warbeast bassist, Karl Bicknell holding it all together, The Garden is a fine way to begin.
Originally formed in 2018 as a quartet and having found some recognition with their song Nothing More in 2020, Slump have reemerged, stripped back to a trio and ready to explore the boundaries of the genre. First up for Slump is Dust, wholly different from the preceding ten-minutes from the outset, with its skipping rhythms and psychedelic range. Bassist Olly Lawrence sounds like he’s playing underwater and David Kabbouri Lara’s drums swing and groove. There’s a distinctly punk feel to the first half of the song, with Alunah’s Matt Noble pulling double duties on both guitar and vocals. The second half has a more traditional modern doom (if there is such a thing) feel, channelling the vibes of Volume 4 or Cathedral.
Slump’s second tune, Kneel, returns us to a more doom-oriented sound, though still a world away from At War with the Sun’s 60bpm stomp. The fuzzy guitars even give this one something of a grunge feel at times and the switches to a harsher sound during the mid-sections evoke the work of Corrosion of Conformity at their belligerent best.
Both Dust and Kneel will feature on Slump’s upcoming EP, due sometime in the new year but, in the meantime both bands will be heading out across the English midlands in early 2024, so if you’re into slow-paced funereal stomps or more psychedelic sludge, or both, and find yourself in Stoke, Birmingham, Leicester or Stafford in the new year then why not get yourself along to a show.
