With their Fall tour — as opposed to the summer one; yeah, it goes like that — currently ongoing, Greek heavy rockers 1000mods have announced more European undertakings set for early next year. The run begins March 5 at A38 Hajó in Budapest, which I’m excited to see on a list of dates because I went there one time, and carries the band into April as they continue to support their new album, Cheat Death (review here). Note that the new tour has them out with Frenzee, whose Apollonia “Api” Xylouris contributes guest vocals on the record. Some potential for onstage collaboration then, certainly, as the two bands run through a succession of shows in Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Portugal.

Lest we forget, 1000mods were in the US in Fall 2023. I haven’t heard anything about a return trip for the new record, but with a North American release through Ripple — the band’s imprint, Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug (also a booking company), has it for the rest of the world — it’s by no means outside the realm of possibility. Whatever you can do though to see them, they are second to none at what they do.

Sound of Liberation, which is co-presenting the tour, posted the following. Remaining Fall shows are included, new dates underneath. You’ll figure it out:

1000MODS – NEW ALBUM & TOUR DATES

Their brand new album “Cheat Death” just dropped, and they’re bringing it live across Europe! Don’t miss out on these epic shows – check the dates below and catch them in a city near you. Plus, we’re thrilled to have them on stage at SOL SONIC RIDE COLOGNE on 29.03.2025 at Carlswerk Victoria + Club Volta, Cologne (tickets via link in bio). 🔥

Looking for 1000Mods merch and vinyl? Head over to our shop: www.sol-records.com. 🛒

Fall 2024 Tour Dates:

20.11.2024 (FI) Helsinki, Ääniwalli
22.11.2024 (SE) Stockholm, Fuzz Festival
23.11.2024 (SE) Borlänge, Broken Dreams
24.11.2024 (SE) Gothenburg, Hemligheten
25.11.2024 (NO) Oslo, Goldie
26.11.2024 (SE) Malmö, Plan B

Spring 2025 “Cheat Death” Album Release Tour:
05.03.2025 (HU) Budapest, A38
06.03.2025 (AT) Vienna, Arena
07.03.2025 (DE) Lindau, Club Vaudeville
08.03.2025 (CH) Pratteln, Z7
09.03.2025 (CH) Geneva, PTR L’Usine
10.03.2025 (FR) Lyon, Transbordeur Club
12.03.2025 (FR) Toulouse, Metronum
13.03.2025 (FR) Montpellier, Victoire 2
14.03.2025 (ES) Barcelona, Apolo 2
16.03.2025 (ES) Madrid, Nazca
17.03.2025 (PT) Lisbon, RCA Club
18.03.2025 (PT) Porto, Mouco
20.03.2025 (ES) Bilbao, Stage Live
21.03.2025 (FR) Alençon, La Luciole
23.03.2025 (FR) Paris, La Maroquinerie
24.03.2025 (FR) Wasquehal, Black Lab
25.03.2025 (BE) Brussels, La Botanique
26.03.2025 (NL) Amsterdam, Melkweg
27.03.2025 (NL) Nijmegen, Doornroosje
28.03.2025 (NL) Groningen, Vera
30.03.2025 (DE) Cologne, Carlswerk Victoria (SOL Sonic Ride Cologne)
31.03.2025 (DE) Aschaffenburg, Colos Saal
01.04.2025 (DE) Erlangen, E-Werk
02.04.2025 (DE) Munich, Backstage
03.04.2025 (DE) Regensburg, Alte Mälzerei
04.04.2025 (DE) Leipzig, Werk 2
05.04.2025 (DE) Hamburg, Knust
06.04.2025 (DE) Berlin, Columbia Theater

All tickets and info available on the official 1000Mods website: www.1000mods.com/tour. 🎫

https://www.instagram.com/1000mods/
https://www.facebook.com/1000mods/
https://1000mods.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/1000mods
http://www.1000mods.com/

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Ougaboogarecs
https://www.instagram.com/ougabooga_recordings/
https://ougaboogaandthemightyoug.bandcamp.com/

1000mods, Cheat Death (2024)

Greece’s foremost heavy rock export, 1000mods return to work with producer Matt Bayles (Mastodon, Isis, tons more) after collaborating on their 2020 LP, Youth of Dissent (review here, discussed here), for their fifth album, Cheat Death, which collects 10 new tracks across an hour of music issued through the band’s own Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings and Ripple Music (in the US). And like Youth of Dissent, the album feels somewhat defiant in its vision of what heavy rock is and can do.

That is to say, where those familiar with 1000mods‘ earlier work might have an expectation of desert style party-isms of the kind that were offered on 2011’s full-length debut, Super Van Vacation (review here; discussed here, also here), with the choice sandy grooves that helped ignite/expose a generational shift in the Greek underground the ramifications of which are still panning out 13 years later, the truth of 1000mods‘ catalog when you listen to it front to back is that they’ve always been a more complex band. Even as they bring Bayles back on board to produce/engineer and mix Cheat Death (Brad Boatright mastered), the band have continued to evolve as they’ve done all along, refusing to stagnate and so — although the title-track lyrically is about love — part of the death being cheated across the album’s not-insignificant timespan is creative stagnation.

1000mods — now the core trio of vocalist/bassist Dani G., guitarist/vocalist George T. and drummer Labros G.; that’s down from the four-piece they were with Giannis S. on guitar; they still have two guitars live — have never put out the same album twice, and as they have all along, the band have not neglected to learn what worked for them and what didn’t on Youth of Dissent, and as Cheat Death moves forward, from the stark colors of its Eva Mourtzi cover compared to the muted tones of the album prior — both covers have a message to send; I’m not belittling either approach — to the rhythmic drive behind “Götzen Hammer” or the get-what-you-see galloping frenzy of “Speedhead,” it both works from its own foundations and remains aware of what 1000mods have done before.

The hooky and somewhat melancholic “Overthrown” and the dreamier build of golly-I-hope-I-get-to-see-them-play-it-live-at-some-point-ever 10-minute finale “Grey, Green Blues” each showcase a mature songwriting process, and special attention seems to have been given to conveying a sense of energy in the material; in both the speedier shuffle of “The One Who Keeps Me Down” and the Hammond-tinged alt-rock verses of “Love,” even in the cello’ed and finger-plucked (plus piano) instrumental “Bluebird” later on, the band are able to direct their songs to different ends that feed into the overarching flow and depth of Cheat Death as a whole. Classic stuff, but there seems to be more consciousness in Cheat Death in terms of the band wanting to shake up the proceedings between the songs. Sometimes that’s a change in mood, as when the mostly-swaying (until the solo, which shreds) “Misery” and “Bluebird” offer a somber stretch before the title-track twists and careens like modern progressive metal playing back to ’80s riffing as the lyrics present a more hopeful take.

Arrangements are part of it too. As noted, “Bluebird” brings in cello (by Nikos Veliotis), while that same song, “Love,” and “Grey, Green Blues” boast keys/organ from Jiomy Amaranth. The feeling of expansion around the core of what 1000mods do musically is almost immediate on Cheat Death as Godsleep‘s Amie Makris joins Dani on vocals, and while also giving the album a singular heavy blowout, “Götzen Hammer” incorporates the voice of Apollonia “Api” Xylouris from Frenzee, semantron by Panos Z. and guitar by John S. That both of these songs appear early on doesn’t feel like a coincidence, as the procession of cuts across Cheat Death bears out an intentional push-pull dynamic, for example, as “Astral Odor” opens up some of the relative intensity of crush, which is something that “Cheat Death” answers back to later on side B. Most of the lyrical framework is brooding, emotive, longing and questioning, but the album is by no means all-downer in terms of point of view.

“Speedhead” might be almost afraid of its own manic shove, but “Love,” “Cheat Death” and “Grey, Green Blues” remind that it’s not all self-doubt and recriminations, and the music behind, in front of and generally all around the words follows suit. In this way, 1000mods create a diverse impression without ranging so far as to lose the plot or cohesion of the material itself, and their songs, which even in mid-album pieces like “Astral Odor” and “Love” are capable of reaching toward seven minutes long, have a quality underlying construction that not only justifies the breadth, but makes it an important part of the point. Shifts in perspective, subject, riff, whatever it might be become part of the album’s persona, and the included guest appearances do much to showcase 1000mods‘ big-picture considerations in terms of how the songs interact, what each one brings to the album, and why and what that adds to the course of its entirety.

To call the skill with which 1000mods execute Cheat Death anything less than masterful is probably underselling how much actual work the band have put into their growth over the last 15-plus years between the studio and touring, and where from 2014’s Vultures (review here, discussed here) onward, they could have been issuing clones of Super Van Vacation and still be one of the biggest names Greece has ever produced in heavy rock, the fact that they’re so uncompromising in their direction, that they don’t write any songs other than the ones they want to write, that somehow-daring chase toward authenticity, makes them all the more respectable.

They could take a probably an easier path but don’t because it wouldn’t be as fulfilling, and accordingly, their albums play out in succession to tell the story of their evolution in installments. Cheat Death is the latest of these, and that it’s their fifth record and the listener still comes out of it wondering where on earth they might go next should be taken as a sign of how special a band they are in the first place. Their commitment to exploring new ideas in their work is unflinching, paramount, and Cheat Death does this with correspondingly punkish grace and heart.

1000mods, Cheat Death (2024)

1000mods on Facebook

1000mods on Instagram

1000mods on Bandcamp

1000mods on Soundcloud

Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug on Facebook

Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug on Instagram

Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug on Bandcamp

Ripple Music on Facebook

Ripple Music on Instagram

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

This will be a good time. For sure, you’ve got two different kinds of party between Half Gramme of Soma and Sadhus the Smoking Community, but the two Greek outfits who’ll head out on tour together this week with the backing of the 1000mods-adjacent Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug both get there regardless. They’re roommates. They’ve shared members. You might say they’re familiar with each other. They’ll begin the run on Sofia, Bulgaria, at Club Mixtape 5 on Thursday, and do nine shows in nine days before a date in Athens rounds out on Nov. 9.

Half Gramme of Soma head out in support of their 2022 debut, Slip Through the Cracks (review here), released by Fuzz Ink Records and Sound of Liberation Records, while Sadhus the Smoking Community continue their plunder with the backing of Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug, which put out their Illegal Sludge LP (review here) last year. Each band has a distinct style in relation to the other, as you can tell even from just the two videos below, but so much the better.

Have fun:

HALF GRAMME OF SOMA & SADHUS THE SMOKING COMMUNITY – ‘Mass Tour’

It’s finally happening…

Sadhus “The Smoking Community” and Half Gramme of Soma have a lot in common.

During the last decade they ’ve shared everything, from their love for heavy sound and fuzz guitars to a poor old bass player, gear and even the same studio! So the time has come for these roommates to hit the road and make a yearslong dream come true: To play their heavy, doomy psychedelic, noisy, smokey music together and tour Europe showcasing their own version of what community means… “Τhe Smoking Community”!

24 OCT: Club Mixtape 5 – SOFIA, BG 🇧🇬
25 OCT: SKCNS Fabrika – NOVISAD, RS 🇷🇸
26 OCT: Mknž Ilirska Bistrica – ILIRSKA BISTRICA, SL 🇸🇮
27 OCT: KUD Channel Zero – LJUBLJANA, SL 🇸🇮
28 OCT: Hospoda Brouk – PRAGUE, CZ 🇨🇿
29 OCT: Bar 227 – HAMBURG, DE 🇩🇪
30 OCT: Waldmeister e.V. Raum für Kultur- SOLINGEN, DE 🇩🇪
31 OCT: Vinyl-Reservat- GOTTINGEN , DE 🇩🇪
1 NOV: Garage Pankow- BERLIN, DE 🇩🇪
2 NOV: Zukunft – CHEMNITZ, DE 🇩🇪
9 NOV: AN club ‘official’ – ATHENS, GR 🇬🇷

www.facebook.com/hgosband
www.instagram.com/half_gramme_of_soma
https://halfgrammeofsoma.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SadhusCommunity/
https://www.instagram.com/thesmokingcommunity/
https://sadhus.bandcamp.com/

Half Gramme of Soma, “Muck & Cheese” official video

Sadhus, The Smoking Community, “Woodman” official video

The new 1000mods album, Cheat Death, will be out Nov. 8 through Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings in Europe/ROW and, as announced just over a week ago, through Ripple Music in North America, and what’s happening below, in addition to spreading the word for preorders opening through both imprints is setting up the unveiling of the first single from the record, the opening track “Overthrown.”

At a little under eight minutes in runtime, the album’s lead cut is a not-unsubstantial sampling of what the hour-long LP has in store for listeners taking it on. If you’re a longtime fan of the band, you know to there’s a lot that’s fair game in terms of where they’re progression might take them at this point, and if the band are cheating death creatively, they’re for sure doing it by continuing to grow as players and artists. I have no ‘skin in the game’ in terms of involvement making or promoting the release, but I find all the same I’m excited and interested to see what people make of it when they hear it. Also I guess I’m no longer pretending not to have heard it. Oops.

Found this on socials. Bonus points for misleadingly punkish cover art:

***1000mods – Cheat Death***

Dear friends,

We’re thrilled to announce that our new album Cheat Death will be released on November 8th through Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug worldwide and Ripple Music in North America only.

You can pre-order Cheat Death through our brand new website for Ouga Booga!

Pressings:
Yellow & Red Splatter Vinyls 2LP Ltd to 500 (available only for pre-order)
180g Black Vinyl 2LP

Visit: https://ougabooga.com

Tracklist:

1. Overthrown
2. The One Who Keeps Me Down
3. Götzen Hammer
4. Astral Odor
5. Love
6. Speedhead
7. Misery
8. Bluebird
9. Cheat Death
10. Grey, Green Blues

Artwork by Eva Mourtzi

On Friday, the 20th of September we will release our first single “Overthrown”

You can presave it here: https://orcd.co/overthrown

https://www.instagram.com/1000mods/
https://www.facebook.com/1000mods/
https://1000mods.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/1000mods

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Ougaboogarecs
https://www.instagram.com/ougabooga_recordings/
https://ougaboogaandthemightyoug.bandcamp.com/

1000mods, Youth of Dissent (2020)

One understood Ripple Music has been on something of a kick signing new bands, between Gin Lady, 10,000 Years, Godzillionaire and SoftSun, setting the stage for a busy rest of 2024 and, assumably, an early 2025 that follows suit. Bringing Greek heavy rock forerunners 1000mods, who over a decade ago emerged from their home country with a powerful fanbase and essentially forced the rest of Europe to take the Greek underground seriously, only to set about a regular course of touring and quality, progressive album releases that have continued to deepen the story of who they are as a band, puts that “kick” on a different level. Ripple will handle US label-stuff, while the band’s own imprint, Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug Recordings holds down European/rest of world operations.

I’m not going to tell you I’ve heard the next 1000mods album. I’m not saying I’ve heard it. What I am saying is that if you caught wind of 2020’s Youth of Dissent (review here), expect a shift in vibe. The upcoming release — which I’m not saying I’ve heard — follows its own intentions as regards atmosphere, mood, heft and songwriting, and it’s definitively 1000mods in its refusal to hinder the progression on display. It’s not Youth of Dissent, and it’s not Super Van Vacation, either. Set apparently for release in November, it brings new elements and new depths to the band’s style, exploring different influences and showcasing a growth that, at least in terms of listening — not that I’ve done that — seems born organically from how the members have grown as people.

Note the trio configuration here. I’m pretty sure the record was still done as a two-guitar four-piece, but my understanding is the band will press on as three at least for the time being. I don’t know if they’re looking to get someone else in or not. Basically I just saw Todd Severin from Ripple posted the below on social media and got excited. I assume there’s more to come in terms of album details and all that, either in the next five minutes or the next two months.

For now:

This one has been kept under lock and key for a long while, now it’s time to open the box. Please welcome 1000mods to the Ripple Family! New album coming this November. Will be joint release with the band’s own Ouga Bouga and the Mighty Oug Recordings Gonna be massive.

https://www.instagram.com/1000mods/
https://www.facebook.com/1000mods/
https://1000mods.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/1000mods

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://www.instagram.com/ripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

1000mods, Youth of Dissent (2020)

London-based groove-conjurors Stonus will return to Cyprus, where they originally formed in 2015, to support Sweden’s Truckfighters in the coastal city of Larnaca. Don’t be surprised if they end up putting some new material in the set, since as of at least a few weeks ago, they were planning to record this summer and make a follow-up to their debut LP, Aphasia, which was released in 2020 and followed the next year by their Séance EP (review here). In the presumed interim time between now and the arrival of that yet-unrecorded full-length, Stonus will offer Live in Zen, for which you can see a brief teaser below.

Zen Production Studios is also located in Cyprus, and honestly I don’t know how much of the band lives there versus in the UK, etc., but you can see in the clip it looks like a classy establishment to showcase Stonus‘ riffery. Details are short at this point as regards things like a tracklisting — possible there could be new material on Live in Zen too, depending on when it was recorded and apparently filmed — and a release date, artwork, and so on, but if the repeating undulations of heavy rock and doom have taught anything in the last five decades-plus, it’s patience. So be patient.

And yes, I’m talking to myself there.

The following was cobbled together from social media:

Stonus – Live in Zen (TEASER)

“We have been waiting for a while for this one and we are super-excited to finally start sharing it with you all!”

Out soon on youtube and on vinyl via Electric Valley Records and Ouga Booga and the Mighty Oug!!

We are currently working on our sophomore album which we are aiming to record this summer!

Couldn’t be more excited and we are eager to share with you some of our new material but till then we got work to do.

Recorded at Zen Production Studios in Nicosia, Cyprus
Filmed by SevenSouled Photography
Recorded & Engineered by Alexis Yiangoullis
Mastered by Billy Anderson
Lights by Nikolas Karatzas
Artwork by Seven souled Photography & Rafael Marquetto

https://www.facebook.com/stonerscy
https://www.instagram.com/stonus.band/
https://stonus.bandcamp.com/

http://electricvalleyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/electricvalleyrecords
https://www.instagram.com/electricvalleyrecord
https://evrecords.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Ougaboogarecs
https://ougaboogaandthemightyoug.bandcamp.com/

Stonus, Live in Zen teaser

Stonus, Séance EP (2021)

You know what was pretty awesome? Last year in Summer and Fall when Greek heavy rockers 1000mods partnered with Heavy Psych Sounds to do full-catalog reissues for their four full-lengths to-date (see here and here for full streams) and the band toured in the US for like a month and I got to see them at Desertfest New York (review here), that’s what.

I hadn’t seen the band in a decade, and in that interim they became arguably the most crucial Greek heavy rock act of their generation — a sonic spearhead for desert-heavy and those who’d branch elsewhere alike — and one of the staples of the broader European underground tour circuit. To wit, in addition to these April UK dates, they’ve got a show in Germany on May 30 and they’re set to play Hellfest in France on June 30. I would not be the least bit surprised if they did the entirety of the span between those two shows on the road.

The UK/Ireland dates were first announced almost a month ago but the band added to the tour the other day, so here they are now in all their currently-relevant glory as per social media:

***1000mods – UK & Ireland Tour 2024***

UK calling!

We ‘re so stoked to announce our first UK tour ever!

See you in April

Tickets on sale now: https://www.1000mods.com/tour

Poster by BeWild Brother

Upcoming Shows
04 Apr Bear Cave, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
05 Apr Rebellion, Manchester, United Kingdom
06 Apr Slay, Glasgow, United Kingdom
07 Apr Corporation, Sheffield, United Kingdom
09 Apr Voodoo, Belfast, United Kingdom
10 Apr The Grand Social, Dublin, Ireland
11 Apr The Bunkhouse Bar and Music Venue, Swansea, United Kingdom
12 Apr Garage, London, United Kingdom
13 Apr Thekla, Bristol, United Kingdom

Also:
30 May Colos-Saal Aschaffenburg, Germany
28 Jun Hellfest 2024, Clisson, France

1000mods is:
Dani G.
Giannis S.
Giorgos T.
Labros G.

https://www.instagram.com/1000mods/
https://www.facebook.com/1000mods/
https://1000mods.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/1000mods

1000mods, Youth of Dissent (2020)

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