Many people ask what Sludge Metal is and what it stands for. The answer isn’t as simple as it seems, because models aren’t perfect, and labels can fail (and they fail). Imagine a combination of the filthy aspects of Hardcore with Doom Metal and Stoner Metal distorted and organic appeal, and you’ll have in hands a good insight (but’s not enough to explain some elements of the genre as well). The best thing is to hear an album of the genre and learn things by experience. And on “A Mind Designed to Destroy Beautiful Things”, of the Swedish quintet SLÔDDER, you have it for sure.

The album was recorded, mixed and mastered at Studio Underjord under the guidance of Joona Hassinen, and the sonority is a combination of Hardcore, early Doom Metal and Stoner Metal models: filthy and fuzzy to a point that fans of nasty sonorities will love; but unlike many acts, this quintet prefer to keep their songs understandable to the hearers, what means that there is a good level of definition on the songs. In the end: it’s rough, but you can understand it.

The music of the quintet could be described in many ways, because you’ll feel the presence of elements of the 60s and 70s, from Grunge Rock acts as SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS, of Hardcore on some moments (as heard on the hooks of the simple riffs and tempos on “A Mind Designed to Destroy Beautiful Things”, and even on the screamed expression of the vocals), some Doom Metal slow tempos, and many others. But their music is done under a melodic sense (that creates hooks) and with a coherent way. All these words to say that’s good, indeed, and that can reach fans from different genres into Metal and Rock.

This is the quintet’s second full-length, so it serves as a plank for broader flights. And songs as “REMFS” (that bears a mix between Stoner Metal melodies with some Psychedelic elements, all working on a heavy rhythm foundation created by bass guitar and drums), “A Mind Designed To Destroy Beautiful Things” (where some Hardcore hooks can be heard, and they’re present on the fuzzy guitar riffs), “Warpaint” (a more Doom Metal orientation can be heard due the slower tempos that are pierced by the screamed tunes of the vocals), “Bumrushed” (an intense and filth groove can be heard on the bass guitar on this one), and “Reptile” are the right ones for an introduction to their music.

Again: “A Mind Designed to Destroy Beautiful Things” is an album that can reach fans from different genres into Metal, so follow SLÔDDER’s work and enjoy,