From Bandcamp, “Emerging from the inner realms of North Hertfordshire—fondly dubbed "The Shire,” PRAETORIAN are a four-piece wrecking crew obsessed with angry, bowel-imploding riffs and chaos-infused soundscapes. Since their formation in 2015, the quartet has perfected a ruthless blend of blackened sludge metal, doom-laden heaviness, and noise rock, creating a sonic onslaught that melts faces and rattles bones. Their music is ferocious yet oddly comforting, with moments of tranquil post-metal beauty peeking through the chaos.”

The album has eight songs, and “Fear and Loathing in Stevenage” is first. It’s heavy and weighted combination of Black Metal and Sludge Metal. The Sludge elements make for a much sturdier base, while the Black elements bring harrowing elements with them. It even flirts with Punk and Crust during some moments. “Chain of Dead Command” begins with slower, clean elements, and some of the filth from the earlier song washes away, only to be reborn with the advent of more sludgy elements. “Gutwrenching” opens with tense, scary moment and then is segues into more energetic and heavier tones, and there is even a swinging groove in some moments.

“Tombs of the Blind Dregs” also begins with clean guitars, and at this point, what follows should come as no surprise, a thick, heavy, dredge of fog and falling black rain. The clean vocals bring an uncommon twist to the music as well. “Dormant Psychosis” is a short connecting song consisting of strange psychedelic moments. “Remnants of Head” has some Stoner elements mixed in with it, as the band dexterously avoids categorization by keeping the listener engaged and on their toes at all times. The aggressive Black elements are still there, but this twists into a different monster. “Pylon Cult” is more straightforward, with a driving, heavy beat, and towering guitar riffs. Those guttural vocal moments are brutal as well.

“Burly Haemorrhoid” closes the album, and it’s a faster blast of aggression with meaty bass notes that drip blood. There are also Doom elements at times, sending the song spiraling downwards into the abyss. This was an excellent album, and the band’s mashup of several styles is part of a modern movement in that direction. The blackened elements keep the aggression ever-present, and the sludgy elements add a layer of weight that is as sturdy as concrete. By the end, I was covered in a thick, black filth.