Frederick, Maryland based four piece SLOTH HERDER have been working steady at distilling their sound since their formation in 2009. The band quickly released two EP’s in 2012, ‘Sluggard’ and ‘Abandon Pop Sensibility’. The later of the two has been noted as being very obscure but also receive critical acclaim throughout the metal community. SLOTH HERDER is a band that doesn’t just think outside the box, they break the box. Their unique style has varying moments of influence from a cast of different genres. You will hear a grindcore style for moments and then hints of black metal sprinkled in, and then out of nowhere you will get a faint taste of doom in their mix. SLOTH HERDER will not be barricaded to one genre and the simplest way to define their sound is extreme. In addition, do not let the word “Sloth” in their name deceive you. Unlike the Central and South American mammal in their name, nothing about this band is slow. The follow-up their 2012 EP, ‘Abandon Pop Sensibility’, SLOTH HERDER’s ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ released via Marland based Grimoire Records presents a monstrous, fourteen-track attack in just over thirty-five minutes delivered by vocalist Josh Lyon, bassist Luke Ibach, drummer Sean Wilhide, and guitarist Nick Craggs, and additional sounds by Ryan Neal. An unhinged surge of extreme metal that will appeal to a wide range of acts, from Antigama to Pyrrhon, Yautja to Gaza. The album also includes some amazing imagery within the cover art as well. It would surely be one of those albums you buy on a whim just because of the album art. ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ was recorded by Noel Mueller in the Fall of 2016, who also mixed and mastered the album. ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ will be released on March 24th in several formats including CD, pro-cassette, and digital download. Grimoire Records’ Noel Mueller, who also handles the recording of the label’s releases stated, “We’ve been talking to SLOTH HERDER and trying to record/release an album with them ever since we started Grimoire Records back in 2013. So yeah, we couldn’t be more stoked that four years later, the band finally decided to step into the Grimoire studio and recorded their long anticipated full length with us. The payoff is that much sweeter given how long we’ve been waiting for this to happen.”
“Antipathetic Grades” opens the gates in a welcoming manner to the album. Immediately the track is bombarded with a slew of drum beats. The constant beats and double bass kicks is like the glue that holds the song together. The riffs expelled by Nick Craggs ring out at racing speeds only slowing down when the riffs become far more technical. You then get this huge blackened groove breakdown, which is man handled by both Nick’s riffs and the expert bass lines from Luke Ibach. The track has this knife wielding sound, it’s piercing and thrashing back and forth from extreme lows at highs. “Inner Dissolution” is a stand out track as well. The song has a great instrumental start up before vocalist Josh Lyons and his fierce growl resonates throughout the track. “Inner Dissolution” has some brief thrashy guitar riffs that quickly evolve into more of a doom riff that slows things down to a crawl. The ambient sound of feedback is also very prevalent within this song and adds to the rawness the band has implemented into their style. “Ferric Air” is an instrumental track that comes in at just under 2 minutes. It adds this soothing moment of clarity to the album, and serves as an intermission from the brutality before opening the doors to another dose of that SLOTH HERDER aggression. The following track “No Adherence” is exactly what you would expect after that instrumental song. From the moment the track starts until its abrupt ending it’s pure hatred and aggression expelled from every members instrumental weapon. The track also includes a highly distorted groove that creates a constant thread of rhythm. “Burial Ethic” is the 2nd longest track on the record coming in at 3:47. SLOTH HERDER doesn’t beat around the bush, who needs a 6 minute song when they can accomplish so much in 4 minutes or less. This track holds within one of the best riffs on the album. It’s a very prog like riff that is high pitched in comparison to previous riffs. It stands out amongst Luke Ibach’s bass lines, Sean Wilhide’s thundering drum beats and the precision vocal pitch of Josh Lyon. “Privation” is the finale for ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’. While the vocals on this track stay in the grindcore arena you can really hear some black metal influence on this track. They hold nothing back on the final song and bring forth one of the best tracks on the album. SLOTH HERDER have really outdone themselves on this record. The momentum builds with each track until it comes to a screeching halt on the final song. They’ve been referred to as obscure, and it’s true in some aspects of their sound. They have composed music that is imaginative and complex. SLOTH HERDER are truly bringing obscurity to the masses encased in brutality.
Follow SLOTH HERDER on Facebook here.
Pre-Order ‘No Pity, No Sunrise’ and listen to their previous albums on Bandcamp here.
