SURGE - State of Complete Emptiness (2023) Cassette

Sludge metal has always been the sound of something collapsing in slow motion, and S.U.R.G.E., the project lurking behind that acronym, commits to the collapse fully. State of Complete Emptiness is not a fun listen. It is, however, a necessary one.

Out of the USA and operating somewhere in the tar pit between Eyehategod and early Neurosis, S.U.R.G.E. builds weight rather than riffs, atmosphere rather than hooks. This is music for people who find comfort in heaviness, who understand that sludge metal at its best is a kind of pressure valve. The kind of record you put on when the world has been particularly awful and you need something that agrees with you.

Cassette EP, 2023 pressing. US origin.

Fans of: Eyehategod, Thou, Indian