Album Review: Ten Ton Slug – Colossal Oppressor (Self Released)

The Slug is back, and the Slug is hungry! Filled with sludgy and doom-infused riff goodness, the beloved Irish three-piece will release their much-anticipated debut album, ‘Colossal Oppressor’ on May 1st, 2024.

Ten years (roughly) since they crawled out of the West of Ireland to take the metal world by storm, Ten Ton Slug finally bring us their debut full-length release. It’s been a long time coming, but if they were feeling any pressure, it doesn’t show in the slightest on an album that puts an emphatic exclamation point after their name. It’s not Ten Ton Slug anymore, it’s Ten! Ton! Slug!! Shout it f**king loud.

But hey, maybe you’re not actually aware of this band and their immense talent to make filthiness sound so good. Pull up a chair and let me tell you why everyone loves this band. All the proof you need is in this album.

The wicked tale of rampant riffing, destructive drumming, and vibrant vocals begins with The Ooze. However, like all good stories, this one begins by setting the scene with sinister sounding melody. The transition into a chunky rhythm is perfect, and your head will be banging along to the grimy groove immediately. If the power of the instruments wasn’t enough, the vocals are sounding so damn fierce.

Words that might sound ‘par for the course’ with Ten Ton Slug, but words that can’t fully convey just how intense the combination is. It’s why the following Balor and Ancient Ways keep the gurn plastered on the face. Ten Ton Slug aren’t just adept at dragging you into the sludge, they’re adept at making you trash about in a futile attempt to not sink into the darkness. Even when the latter track comes with a bit more blues and stoner vibes.

The darkness is calling though, and Karl Willetts of Memoriam/Bolt Thrower has joined forced with Ten Ton Slug to ensure your struggles are in vain. The track is Brutus, and the guitars are scathingly heavy here. If that wasn’t enough to make your body tremble, the vocals come with so much growling power, you might find you s**t yourself listening to this one. Just the price you pay for riding with the Slug.

It’s such a great album, and no matter how much filth comes your way, the admiration and love for it, deepens more. There’s Mindless and Blind, a track that has these thrashy tempo bursts, but is summarised by a thumping riff/drum combination. Then there is the animated groove-monster that is Mallacht an tSloda, one curse of the sludge that no-one will mind experiencing. That the vocals are entirely in Gaelic is very special indeed.

Jammed in between those two bangers is Ghosts of the Ooze, a darkly melodic intermission. Before the Slug rears up in terrifying fashion for the finale of Mogore the Unkind. Do you know much about the Hittite Empire? Well, Ten Ton Slug have detailed its fall in their emphatically heavy way. The early lethargic pace of this track is soul sucking stuff, but it bonds to you in a way that means every injection of energy hits like salt in an open wound. Not only is it the longest track on the album, but it’s also the most elaborate from an instrumental point of view. It just so happens to come with so much Ten Ton Slug weight.

The final few minutes of this track, the slow chug and guttural growls, is one of the best things you’ll hear all year.

There’s not enough salt in the world to stop their rampage, so climb aboard and hail the Slug! Colossal Oppressor is an outstanding release and will surely catapult this band to even greater heights. You can’t say they don’t deserve it.

Ten Ton Slug – Colossal Oppressor Track Listing:

1. The Ooze
2. Balor
3. Ancient Ways
4. Brutus (feat. Karl Willetts of Memoriam/Bolt Thrower)
5. Mindless and Blind
6. Ghosts of the Ooze
7. Mallacht an tSloda
8. Mogore the Unkind

Links

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