Greek sludgeoners Sadhus, The Smoking Community are set to present their third full-length, Illegal Sludge, tomorrow, Nov. 17, through Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings. And while I’ll admit I’m not as up on Greek customs and politics as some might otherwise be, I’m pretty sure sludge isn’t really illegal. Think of the multitudes of Greek heavy bands who’d take to the streets, angrily, righteously demanding to steamroll and be steamrolled by riffs. A general strike (at last, everyone just stops going to work), boycotts, calls for regime change — no doubt shit would get severe — and the gnashing dogs on the cover of Illegal Sludge, well, I’m glad that guy’s in his car, and I feel like the terror portrayed in his bent fingers would be like what happened if you played the eight-song/39-minute wreckfest for your grandmother. Those look like German shepherds, despite the yellow eyes, so maybe that’s the cops siccing the dogs on our unsuspecting homeboy just trying to get a little spiritual catharsis on his way to the Costco. Ain’t nobody actually getting hurt, though you might not know that from the sound of the record.

Sadhus, The Smoking Community — whose moniker I always manage to read in the same voice as, “Spaceballs: The Flamethrower!” — shouldn’t be outlawed, but they should probably come with a warning. Whatever they put on room-sized miter saws should be fine. They commence the beatings with the seven-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “Mel O.D.,” and within 45 seconds, a few key elements have solidified. One, the tones are muck-thick and set to malevolent chug. Guitarist Thomas G., bassist Mak and drummer Greg are at home dug into the marching “Mel O.D.,” and when the harsh screams of vocalist Stavros start, a big part of the personality of Illegal Sludge is unveiled. This is not nearly my first experience with the band. I recall checking them out when they were taking part in the unfortunately shortlived Desertfest Athens in 2016, and their 2018 LP, Big Fish (review here), had similar feelings on subtlety, but in putting Illegal Sludge on, it’s still a surprise just how much aural force is put into this music. Caution: contents are very, very nasty. Do not shake. Do not expose to the well-adjusted.

Shenanigans abound, from a freakout at the end of “Mel O.D.” with guest trumpet by Bassment Rats, to “Eye on Man” finally breaking out the “Iron Man” riff at the very end to the stomp-mosh of “Woodman,” with its sub-two-minute tempo burst and punkish-and-still-omnidirectional fuckall leading into the closing pair of “Filthy Trust” and “Hold Out.” As once did the mighty Darkthrone, with whom Sadhus have little ultimately in common aside, I expect, from an affection for old metal and raw recordings, the four-piece offer “Fuck Off and Die” with a sense of even stripping down the stripped down. Lyrics are minimal, really some repeated verse lines and the chorus, but as is the case throughout Illegal Sludge, the fucking point gets across coming out of the fast-then-slow “Fuckin’ Apes” prior, itself reversing the structure of the opener. “Fuck Off and Die,” like at least part of “Mel O.D.,” is a march, and it’s not the last one to show up with the title-track still ahead, but they open it some in the second half and release a bit of the tension they’ve amassed. Naturally, they’re nowhere near done yet, and through “Eye on Man” and the dug-in caustic plunder of “Illegal Sludge” itself, they remain intentionally vicious.

If you’d seek some relent after “Illegal Sludge,” you’re on the wrong record. Sadhus, The Smoking Community back the title-cut with “Woodsman” and double-down right at the moment when most acts might pull back on the severity, if just for an interlude or somesuch. That comes in the quiet guitar and for-a-walk drums at the outset of “Filthy Trust,” but it doesn’t last, and by about 90 seconds in, the penultimate cut has burst into its full grimy glory, a roll like Monolord eventually giving way to d-beat hardcore thrust as they find an opportunity to fuse dynamic without giving up the central disaffection at their core, punishing right to the end and carrying that momentum into “Hold Out,” which is a duly consuming finish and presented as a moment of arrival — the slaughterhouse toward which all prior assault was leading. They take that nod through the feedback-drenched conclusion and leave residual noise and bad feelings to linger. Everyone else seems to have already said “fuck it” and gone home.

Legit. After just under 40 minutes of crusty pummeling, I’m not sure how much mental capacity is left over for conversationalism anyhow. But as you make your way through, keep in mind that while Sadhus, The Smoking Community seem to be pushing themselves and common aural decency to their respective limits, this is exactly the functioning goal of the work to start with. As harsh as Illegal Sludge is, it is precisely what the band wanted it to be, and that intention resonates through even its most violent stretches. It’s how their community does it. Also stoned. May it and they ever be thus.

Have at you:

Exactly five years following the release of their second full-length “Big Fish”, Greek doom metal crew Sadhus the Smoking Community are gearing up to release their third album “Illegal Sludge” via Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug! on November 17th. Recorded and mixed by Iraklis Vlachakis and mastered by Brad Boatright, “Illegal Sludge” is like a dangerous and highly intoxicating whiskey made at an illegal distillery.

A five-piece (four musicians plus a ‘rolling engineer’) band from Athens, Sadhus, The Smoking Community have released two full-length albums and two split releases to date where they deliver both hooky riffs and punchy rhythms via a caustic and heavy mix of a bluesy-driven sludge sound with extreme crust-style vocals.

Written & Performed by Sadhus, The Smoking Community
Produced by Sadhus & Iraklis Vlachakis
Recorded & Engineered by Iraklis Vlachakis at Crème Chalet Studio in Kallithea, Athens, GR, Nov – Dec 2022
Mixed by Iraklis Vlachakis
Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland, Oregon, USA
Illustration & Layout by Fotini Kaklidi

TRACKLIST
1. Mel O.D.
2. Fuckin’ Apes
3. Fuck Off & Die
4. Eye On Man
5. Illegal Sludge
6. Woodman
7. Filthy Trust
8. Hold Out

Trumpet on MEL O.D. by Bassment Rats

Released by Ouga Booga & The Mighty Oug, November 2023

Sadhus, The Smoking Community are:
Stavros – Vocals
Thomas G. – Guitars
Mak – Bass
Greg – Drums
Steve – Rolling Engineer

Sadhus, The Smoking Community, “Woodman” official video

Sadhus, The Smoking Community on Facebook

Sadhus, The Smoking Community on Instagram

Sadhus, The Smoking Community on Bandcamp

Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings on Facebook

Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings on Instagram

Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings website

Tags: Athens, Greece, Illegal Sludge, Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings, Sadhus, Sadhus Illegal Sludge, Sadhus The Smoking Community

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 16th, 2023 at 6:21 am and is filed under audiObelisk, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.