Tuesday 16 May 2017

ALBUM REVIEW: Lord - "Blacklisted"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: Heavy Hound Records
Label: 26/05/2017


In a genre often bogged down by soundalike bands, Lord offer a sharp shot of adrenaline in the form of “Blacklisted”. The band’s distinct blend of gnarly thrash and filthy sludge deserves to see them go far.


“Blacklisted” CD//DD track listing:

1. Mile After Mile
2. They Lied
3. The Bandage
4. Blacklisted
5. The Heart of a Hero
6. Not Your Problem?

The Review:

Lord don’t take any prisoners on new release “Blacklisted”. Over the course of 30 breathless minutes the Virginian’s unleash a barrage of High On Fire-indebted stoner thrash dredged from the deepest swamps of New Orleans.

The opening trio of “Mile After Mile”, “They Lied” and “The Bandage” find the band in unstoppable full flow. Sections of raging high-octane mayhem crash into the kind of huge sludge riffs Down would be proud of, while a variety of throat ripping howls and barks wail overhead. The title track sees Lord add bursts of dirty death metal and furious blastbeats into the mix which bring an edge of nastiness to their already grimy sound.

The undertones of Crowbar’s slow-motion misery that bubble under the surface throughout “Blacklisted” are given free rein on “The Heart of a Hero”. Lord ably demonstrate that they can slow down to a languid crunch without any loss of impact and still deliver a devastating blend of crushing riffs and epic melody. The track peaks with a huge solo that distils everything that is great about this release; a perfect mix of technical ability and ragged, untamed energy.

Not Your Problem?” brings the record to a close in strong, anthemic fashion. It’s the closest Lord get to a regular song with elements of straight-ahead punk’n’roll aggression mixed in with their trademark deadly riffs. It provides a suitably powerful vehicle for a rant on consumerism and not turning a blind eye to the world descending into chaos.

In a genre often bogged down by soundalike bands, Lord offer a sharp shot of adrenaline in the form of “Blacklisted”. The band’s distinct blend of gnarly thrash and filthy sludge deserves to see them go far.


Blacklisted” is available here


Band info: bandcamp || facebook