#slugdge — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #slugdge, aggregated by home.social.
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Flummox – Southern Progress Review
By Kenstrosity
Originally slated to be my main Thing You Might Have Missed feature, Tennessee avant-garde metal quintet Flummox’s fifth LP Southern Progress caught me completely off guard. Attracted to the prompt “their most obnoxious album yet,” I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first exposure to Flummox’s work. I figured it might be weird, but it’s also distinctive, fun, and infectious. Fearlessly creative, deeply detailed, lyrically cutting, and stupidly intelligent, Southern Progress rapidly became my favorite record released so far this year. It doesn’t seem likely now that anything out of the metalverse this year will surpass it.
Southern Progress embodies a rhizomic system of inspirations and influences that, when harnessed by Flummox’s wacky brains, emerges from the soil as something wholly unique in style, sound, and intent. My best attempt to contextualize this material would involve names from the progsphere like Fair to Midland, Native Construct, Pink Floyd, early Queen, and Mike Patton; purveyors of the extreme such as Strapping Young Lad and Slugdge; avant-garde touchstones like Mr. Bungle, Igorrr, and Diablo Swing Orchestra; genre-jumpers such as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard; and even cinematic composers like Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer.1 Ultimately, though, there is no comfortable comparison. Flummox are a singular entity of weird, wild, theatrical metal capable of nailing every bizarre idea they throw at me, such that in less than a week, I had a majority portion of Southern Progress’ 57-minute runtime pinned to my psyche. All the while, its candid exposition of the queer and genderfluid experience in the Bible Belt (“Southern Progress”) struck a chord so rarely plucked by music on this sphere, and its inspired exploration of the neurodivergent experience as one of its parallel plot lines (“Executive Dysfunction”) gave me an easy avenue to resonate even more deeply with its voice.
The tricky reality of Southern Progress is that 750 words is woefully insufficient to encompass all that Flummox achieves, but its primary triumph is in universal songwriting excellence. Music like this marks a once-in-a-blue-moon occasion—and an ambitious undertaking—but Flummox makes it look effortless as they balance the beauty of melodious, theatrical compositions with the livid, frothing rabidity of searing, off-kilter riffs, thunderous rhythms, and revolutionary attitude (“Southern Progress,” “Femto’s Theme,” “Long Pork,” “Executive Dysfunction”). While these elements are familiar to anyone with experience in the metalverse, their twisted forms instead leave a vivid impression of something altogether more eccentric and uncanny (“Southern Progress,” “Nesting Doll,” “Locust Eater,” “Coyote Gospel”). Well-defined structures and concrete themes play their part in making sure these warped representations stick. Presenting every unhinged idea, cynical line, and explosive outburst inside a digestible package makes Southern Progress somehow even stranger and more enthralling for its deceiving accessibility (“What We’re In For…,” “Always Something Going Down,” “Siren Shock,” “Flumlindalë”).
In spite of its unquestionable adoption of metallic methods, Southern Progress is an intensely theatrical affair unfit for the genrephobic, but is nonetheless something everyone should experience at least once. Challenging in a different way than Imperial Triumphant or other known creators of what certain pundits call “not music,” Flummox is similarly fearless in their exploration of style and technique, and equally meticulous in application and execution. To that end, Southern Progress’ music is mutated and maniacal, but grounded through several root elements: emotional depth, societal awareness, thoughtful critiques, and artistic integrity. More than just a vehicle for that cogent societal commentary, the potent passion that each member of Flummox hemorrhaged into Southern Progress is unmatched by all except the unfuckwithable technical quality of their writing and performances. The fact that this intangible factor boasts such strong presence inside of, and coalesces so harmoniously with, the tangible product proves that Flummox’s dedication, attention to detail, and intentional artistry contributes meaningful substance and significance not just to Southern Progress on its own, but also to the greater body of metal as we know it today.
It is for this reason that Flummox’s Southern Progress isn’t just an excellent album, but also an important one. Aside from its high artistic merit, Southern Progress is a timely and fierce challenge against the dehumanization of queer, gender-nonconforming, and even neurodivergent communities across the American South—and, by extension, the country—especially by organized religious (read: Christian) entities. But it’s also a celebration, a triumphant expression of pride and love and resilience that only comes from openly and unashamedly discovering, struggling with, and ultimately embodying all that you are in spirit, body, and mind. Everyone deserves to know this feeling without fear of stigmatization, fetishization, violence, or isolation. Southern Progress is an unorthodox and fun, but wildly effective, advocate for that cause.
Rating: Excellent!2
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Needlejuice Records
Websites: flummoxed.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/flummoxband
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025Show 2 footnotes
- Specifically, Zimmer’s work for Rango’s OST. ↩
- You should expect to see me within a year or so, Contrite and ashamed that I didn’t award this the coveted Iconic score! ↩
#2025 #45 #AmericanMetal #Apr25 #AvantGarde #BlackMetal #DannyElfman #DeathMetal #DiabloSwingOrchestra #ExperimentalMetal #FairToMidland #Flummox #FolkMetal #Gospel #HansZimmer #Igorrr #ImperialTriumphant #KingGizzardAndTheLizardWizard #MelodicMetal #MikePatton #MrBungle #NativeConstruct #NeedlejuiceRecords #PinkFloyd #ProgressiveMetal #Queen #Review #Reviews #Slugdge #SouthernProgress #StrappingYoungLad
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Flummox – Southern Progress Review
By Kenstrosity
Originally slated to be my main Thing You Might Have Missed feature, Tennessee avant-garde metal quintet Flummox’s fifth LP Southern Progress caught me completely off guard. Attracted to the prompt “their most obnoxious album yet,” I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first exposure to Flummox’s work. I figured it might be weird, but it’s also distinctive, fun, and infectious. Fearlessly creative, deeply detailed, lyrically cutting, and stupidly intelligent, Southern Progress rapidly became my favorite record released so far this year. It doesn’t seem likely now that anything out of the metalverse this year will surpass it.
Southern Progress embodies a rhizomic system of inspirations and influences that, when harnessed by Flummox’s wacky brains, emerges from the soil as something wholly unique in style, sound, and intent. My best attempt to contextualize this material would involve names from the progsphere like Fair to Midland, Native Construct, Pink Floyd, early Queen, and Mike Patton; purveyors of the extreme such as Strapping Young Lad and Slugdge; avant-garde touchstones like Mr. Bungle, Igorrr, and Diablo Swing Orchestra; genre-jumpers such as King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard; and even cinematic composers like Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer.1 Ultimately, though, there is no comfortable comparison. Flummox are a singular entity of weird, wild, theatrical metal capable of nailing every bizarre idea they throw at me, such that in less than a week, I had a majority portion of Southern Progress’ 57-minute runtime pinned to my psyche. All the while, its candid exposition of the queer and genderfluid experience in the Bible Belt (“Southern Progress”) struck a chord so rarely plucked by music on this sphere, and its inspired exploration of the neurodivergent experience as one of its parallel plot lines (“Executive Dysfunction”) gave me an easy avenue to resonate even more deeply with its voice.
The tricky reality of Southern Progress is that 750 words is woefully insufficient to encompass all that Flummox achieves, but its primary triumph is in universal songwriting excellence. Music like this marks a once-in-a-blue-moon occasion—and an ambitious undertaking—but Flummox makes it look effortless as they balance the beauty of melodious, theatrical compositions with the livid, frothing rabidity of searing, off-kilter riffs, thunderous rhythms, and revolutionary attitude (“Southern Progress,” “Femto’s Theme,” “Long Pork,” “Executive Dysfunction”). While these elements are familiar to anyone with experience in the metalverse, their twisted forms instead leave a vivid impression of something altogether more eccentric and uncanny (“Southern Progress,” “Nesting Doll,” “Locust Eater,” “Coyote Gospel”). Well-defined structures and concrete themes play their part in making sure these warped representations stick. Presenting every unhinged idea, cynical line, and explosive outburst inside a digestible package makes Southern Progress somehow even stranger and more enthralling for its deceiving accessibility (“What We’re In For…,” “Always Something Going Down,” “Siren Shock,” “Flumlindalë”).
In spite of its unquestionable adoption of metallic methods, Southern Progress is an intensely theatrical affair unfit for the genrephobic, but is nonetheless something everyone should experience at least once. Challenging in a different way than Imperial Triumphant or other known creators of what certain pundits call “not music,” Flummox is similarly fearless in their exploration of style and technique, and equally meticulous in application and execution. To that end, Southern Progress’ music is mutated and maniacal, but grounded through several root elements: emotional depth, societal awareness, thoughtful critiques, and artistic integrity. More than just a vehicle for that cogent societal commentary, the potent passion that each member of Flummox hemorrhaged into Southern Progress is unmatched by all except the unfuckwithable technical quality of their writing and performances. The fact that this intangible factor boasts such strong presence inside of, and coalesces so harmoniously with, the tangible product proves that Flummox’s dedication, attention to detail, and intentional artistry contributes meaningful substance and significance not just to Southern Progress on its own, but also to the greater body of metal as we know it today.
It is for this reason that Flummox’s Southern Progress isn’t just an excellent album, but also an important one. Aside from its high artistic merit, Southern Progress is a timely and fierce challenge against the dehumanization of queer, gender-nonconforming, and even neurodivergent communities across the American South—and, by extension, the country—especially by organized religious (read: Christian) entities. But it’s also a celebration, a triumphant expression of pride and love and resilience that only comes from openly and unashamedly discovering, struggling with, and ultimately embodying all that you are in spirit, body, and mind. Everyone deserves to know this feeling without fear of stigmatization, fetishization, violence, or isolation. Southern Progress is an unorthodox and fun, but wildly effective, advocate for that cause.
Rating: Excellent!2
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Needlejuice Records
Websites: flummoxed.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/flummoxband
Releases Worldwide: April 11th, 2025#2025 #45 #AmericanMetal #Apr25 #AvantGarde #BlackMetal #DannyElfman #DeathMetal #DiabloSwingOrchestra #ExperimentalMetal #FairToMidland #Flummox #FolkMetal #Gospel #HansZimmer #Igorrr #ImperialTriumphant #KingGizzardAndTheLizardWizard #MelodicMetal #MikePatton #MrBungle #NativeConstruct #NeedlejuiceRecords #PinkFloyd #ProgressiveMetal #Queen #Review #Reviews #Slugdge #SouthernProgress #StrappingYoungLad
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Sonus Mortis – Synapse the Hivemind Review
By Grymm
Ever since I was awoken by the editorial staff here rap-tap-tapping on my coffin lid earlier this year, I’ve been 3 for 3 in terms of albums by one-person bands. Completing the hat trick this time around is Sonus Mortis, a prolific death/doom act navigated by one Kevin Byrne, who was originally the bassist for Irish upstarts Valediction before splitting off on his own. His eighth album in 12 years,1 Synapse the Hivemind sees Byrne tackling personal privacy in a world that’s continuously being overrun by A.I. and the all-seeing eye of the camera. But what interested me was that, despite the output, I’d never heard of Sonus Mortis before, or his claims that Byrne’s band is a mix of death/doom with symphonic black metal elements. So what does that even sound like, both on a musical and conceptual level?
Melodeath. It sounds like melodeath. Mind you, that’s not a bad thing at all, especially considering that it sounds a great deal like Andy Gillion-era Mors Principium Est in many ways, right down to the incredible guitar and keyboard leads that Byrne lays down throughout the album. His screams also recall Matt Moss of the dormant-but-much-missed Slugdge, hissing about drones (“Eyes in the Sky”) and the modern working wage (the title track) with venomous intent. Byrne’s got the musical chops to carry his vision to fruition, raging against literal machines and reigniting the passion to win one’s humanity back against technological oligarchies and the need for systemic control.
I just wish the same could be said for the songwriting. One of the complaints I have against modern melodeath rests in the fact that if you’ve heard one song on an average melodeath album, you’ve pretty much heard the whole damn thing. Sadly, it applies here, as Synapse suffers from the songs almost using identical tempos, motifs, and patterns from each other. Listening to the whole album in one sitting just feels like a well-practiced and impressively-performed blur of leads and atmosphere, making it hard to differentiate from one song to the next without making a lasting impact. Due to this familiarity and extreme deja vu, 50% of the album’s problems exist here.
The other 50% rests in Byrne’s singing voice, which can best be described as an acquired taste. His screams and growls are on-point, and get the blood pumping just right. His cleans, however, do not fit the music at all, either trying for James Hetfield-esque melodrama, complete with Hetfield’s “YEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAH!!!” inflections that pull me out of the game entirely (opener “Biomechanical Horrors”), or aiming to dethrone Mikael Stanne’s haunting croons but whiffing it (the title track and “The Perfect Host”)2 they act as a stark reminder that if you can’t perform a certain way, you can always seek help from the outside. There’s no shame in doing so.
One final bit of advice, and I experienced this personally all-too-recently: the grind mindset. I respect the hustle, I really do. Eight albums in twelve years sounds impressive (and it is), but the factory-like churning of albums causes a negative impact on your art. Slow it down a bit, take time away from what you’re working on (if you can manage), and let your piece breathe a bit. Assess what can be added. What can be taken away? What can be improved upon? Because all these things will benefit not only your music, but you personally. Because while Synapse the Hivemind has some cool ideas and amazing musicianship trapped behind okayish songwriting, I know Byrne and Sonus Mortis are capable of much, much more.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 192 kbps mp3
Label: Unsigned/Independent
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: March 27th, 2025#25 #2025 #IndependentUnsigned #IrishMetal #Mar25 #MelodicDeathMetal #MorsPrincipiumEst #Review #Reviews #Slugdge #SonusMortis #SynapseTheHivemind #Valediction
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There is barely anything more satisfying than when the opening riff kicks in again at the 5:10 mark of a song.
So. Good.
Also: bring back Slugdge!
🎵 War Squids by #Slugdge
💿 Esoteric Malacology, 2018
▶️ https://song.link/y/Q9Wi17oWC6M -
On another note: does anybody know anything about #Slugdge?
It has been six years since their last album. It's about time for another one, I'd say.
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On another note: does anybody know anything about #Slugdge?
It has been six years since their last album. It's about time for another one, I'd say.
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🔊 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix
Slugdge:
🎵 The Spectral Burrowshttps://open.spotify.com/track/4njnJBkIjHPl2F9z2u2Cvi
https://slugdge.bandcamp.com/track/the-spectral-burrows
#Bandcamp🎶 #Show #playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6G4PaS9BNkIuGqMo44rbfZ🎶 #KEXP #playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6VNALrOa3gWbk794YuIrwg -
🔊 #NowPlaying on #KEXP's #VarietyMix
Slugdge:
🎵 The Spectral Burrowshttps://open.spotify.com/track/4njnJBkIjHPl2F9z2u2Cvi
https://slugdge.bandcamp.com/track/the-spectral-burrows
#Bandcamp🎶 #Show #playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6G4PaS9BNkIuGqMo44rbfZ🎶 #KEXP #playlist 👇
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6VNALrOa3gWbk794YuIrwg -
For this week's #ThursdayFiveList @neurothing is looking for #TheOpener
And without further ado, here are some of my favourite album openers:🐙 War Squids by #Slugdge
https://song.link/at/i/1443571364🐘 Tread Lightly by #Mastodon
https://song.link/y/qwOtnTL5Uec👑 Kingmaker by #Screamer
https://song.link/at/i/1636919641🔧 Vicarious by #Tool
https://song.link/at/i/1474250658🥃 Lie To Me by #TomWaits
https://song.link/at/i/1485076541 -
For this week's #ThursdayFiveList @neurothing is looking for #TheOpener
And without further ado, here are some of my favourite album openers:🐙 War Squids by #Slugdge
https://song.link/at/i/1443571364🐘 Tread Lightly by #Mastodon
https://song.link/y/qwOtnTL5Uec👑 Kingmaker by #Screamer
https://song.link/at/i/1636919641🔧 Vicarious by #Tool
https://song.link/at/i/1474250658🥃 Lie To Me by #TomWaits
https://song.link/at/i/1485076541 -
I haven't postet #Slugdge in a while now, so here's my #MittwochMetalMix contribution:
🎵 The Spectral Burrows 🐌
https://song.link/y/-NAT51lK0qg
I wonder when they're gonna release a new album 🤔
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I haven't postet #Slugdge in a while now, so here's my #MittwochMetalMix contribution:
🎵 The Spectral Burrows 🐌
https://song.link/y/-NAT51lK0qg
I wonder when they're gonna release a new album 🤔
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Moving on to something old.
This song is among my absolute favourite heavy tunes:
🎵 #NowPlaying War Squids by Slugdge 🐌 🦑
https://song.link/y/Q9Wi17oWC6MThis riff, this mo****f***ing riff. I can't get enough of it...
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Moving on to something old.
This song is among my absolute favourite heavy tunes:
🎵 #NowPlaying War Squids by Slugdge 🐌 🦑
https://song.link/y/Q9Wi17oWC6MThis riff, this mo****f***ing riff. I can't get enough of it...
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We switched from beers to Averna Sours and put on my favourite metal tune:
#Nowplaying #Slugdge - War Squids
This is a masterpiece.
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And this one:
#Slugdge - War Squids
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And this one:
#Slugdge - War Squids
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Not really a #MetalMonday unless I get to play at least one of my all-time-fave bands. I’ll give that slot to the mighty #Slugdge today, with Salt Thrower.
Can’t wait for their next album, this is probably my most listened to album over the last 4 years.