Moloch - Bend. Break. Kneel. Crawl

Labels: Self-Released/Howling Mine/SuperFi Records/Dry Cough Records

Formats: Vinyl/CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 06 Feb 2026

Tracklist:

1. In Chrysalis

2. Bleeding Through The Interrogation

3. The Bunker

4. Slowly Chewing Umbilical

5. Another Family Slaughters Itself In The Countryside

6. 16.03.13

7. Mother Medusa

In February, UK sludge institution Moloch returned with their first new music in six and a half years. Bend. Break. Kneel. Crawl was self-released on vinyl and digital formats, while SuperFi Records handled a CD release and Dry Cough Records did the same on tape. A US vinyl pressing is due to come from Howling Mine too, so keep an eye out for that stateside.

As I mentioned, Dry Cough Records released a limited tape version of the album and did so with alternative artwork, which I've shared below too. I purchased a copy when it was launched and I apologise for how long it's taken me to sit down to review it.

This release definitely heralds the early days of Dry Cough’s existence. Doom and sludge were DC’s sub-genre mainstays back then, and coming from the label that helped release Moloch’s previous splits with Haggatha, Lich and Groak, it was ace to see them working together again. There is a certain weight that comes with writing about Moloch’s music. It’s hard to explain why as it’s not something I usually feel with other bands, but it’s definitely there. Opener ‘In Chrysalis’ is the first taste you get of Moloch in 2026 (being a year shy of the 20th anniversary of their first demo) and it’s got a groove to it that stands out. It may have always been there but I remember the tempos being a lot slower on previous recordings. Whatever, it’s still a proper gut-wrenching listen that epitomises UK doom/sludge. 

‘Bleeding Through The Interrogation’ is a bass and feedback-drenched song that’s hard to adequately describe. It’s off-kilter at times and truly heavy all the way through. I think you need to listen to it to really appreciate what I’m trying to say. For a song to last almost three and a half minutes but feel like it lasts double that, something has to be going right. The further you get into this album, the nastier it gets. The low growls and bass-heavy doom that follows the screeching feedback at the start of ‘The Bunker’ sets the tone for what’s to come and Moloch don’t hold back at all. It’s mesmerising, showing yet again how a tried and tested formula can be moulded into something new. 

As stark as its title, ‘Slowly Chewing Umbilical’ takes a lumbering form. There’s a driving tempo to its first half and by that I mean it’s not too slow. The latter half though is where that slowness comes in, which is to be expected. Considering what I said when talking about the previous song, changing things drastically would have been a bad idea for a band so revered for their honest and bludgeoning music. ’Another Family Slaughters Itself In The Countryside’ conjures up all kinds of images and those images are interpreted in musical form here. The bass/low-end guitar duo work together to weave a foreboding atmosphere, while the percussion and vocals sit either side in unforgiving union.

Penultimate song ’16.03.13’ is filled with suspense as it builds. There’s something so enjoyable (to me at least) about the mix of dissonant heaviness and screeching feedback that just can’t be beaten. The fact that it comes in the form of an instrumental song as well is even sweeter. It’s the perfect, noisy precursor to the album’s closing number. ’Mother Medusa’ is both the harrowing and the euphoric ending that nobody expected (or maybe you did?). A true mix of Moloch’s mesmeric heaviness and tempo shifts, it’s the perfect send off for an album that’s been a long time coming. Honestly, this is such a good album. Great in fact! To have a band like Moloch delivering doom and sludge like this again is just epic.

You can stream and purchase the album digitally from Moloch below, where their self-released vinyl and a solitary CD copy can also be purchased:-

Moloch Instagram - @moloch.scum

Physical copies can also be purchased from the labels below:-

SuperFi Records - https://superfirecords.limitedrun.com/products/872432-moloch-bend-break-kneel-crawl-cd-lp

Dry Cough Records - https://www.drycoughrecords.com/product/moloch-bend-break-kneel-crawl-cassette-dc84

Also keep an eye out for news on the US vinyl release, which hopefully will come from Moloch soon.

SuperFi Records - https://superfirecords.neocities.org

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Howling Mine - https://noladiy.org/howlingmine.html

SuperFi Records Instagram - @superfirecs 

Dry Cough Records - https://www.facebook.com/DryCoughRecords

Harrowed - Chaotic Nonentity

Labels: Feast Of Tentacles/SuperFi Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 18 Oct 2019

Tracklist:-

1. Stark Terrors

2. Postmodern Prison

3. One Hundred Years

4. Disconnexion

5. Inauthenticide

6. Derelict

7. Living Unknown

8. Interlude I

9. Coward

10. Interlude II

11. Disused Limbs

12. Chaotic Nonentity

The burden weighs heavy. Not that listening to the new release from Harrowed is a burden, It's just been a long week. This is the first new music to come from the Kent heavy hardcore band since their 2013 debut full-length "Into Inferno" and it couldn't be more apt for the current social climate. It was release last month by two of the UK's longest running DIY labels, Feast Of Tentacles and SuperFi Records.

I’m hungover. A weekend of excess after another long week has left me feeling a little peaky today. Not sure if this will help or hinder my recovery but I’m willing to take the chance. Harrowed have always been super heavy and on album opener Stark Terrors, they throw all sorts into the mix, from blackened riffs, sludge-like refrains and straight-up dirty hardcore. Great start so far. There’s an assured feel to this record. The riffs that kick off Postmodern Prison are downtempo and negative before the band lurches into a grinding and noisy sub two-minute blast.

One Hundred Years follows quickly after and it’s thrashing backbone is joined by a lovely solo and clever time-changes, alongside those scathing vocals that seem to pierce your very being. I’m struggling with words and typing today, so apologies if this review reads weird at times. Harrowed delivers one of their longest songs in Disconnexion and it’s one where the percussion really shines. The drumming is authoritative, as it is throughout the album, but alongside the stripped back structure, it comes to the fore. It carries their sludge influence too, which adds to that feeling of dread and claustrophobia that the record presents.

When listening to Inauthenticide, it’s easy to understand why it took Harrowed six years to follow “Into Inferno”. There’s a swagger to the music, but not in a cocky sense and the instrumentation seems to be on another level. The songs are short but seem long and contain a lot of music, if you get what I mean. The quiet build-up to Derelict is a misnomer because no sooner have you sunk into it’s warming tones, that it jumps into life again with dissonant misery. At this point and despite the genre influences I’ve already mentioned above, I think this could well be the evolution of what was metalcore, before that particular sub-genre went south. It’s about time good metalcore (like Shai Hulud and Blood Has Been Shed etc, made a comeback). 

The misery mentioned earlier continues during Living Unknown, which drags you into the second half of “Chaotic Nonentity”.  At this point Harrowed decides to throw in an interlude, but calling Interlude I such a thing is a bit unfair. It’s an extremely solid instrumental hardcore song and it’s the perfect bookend for Coward, which comes and goes in a whirlwind of grinding ferocity and thick breakdowns. Interlude II is haunting with it’s spoken-word sample and uneasy instrumentation. The blackened screams on penultimate song Disused Limbs are disconcerting but this is Harrowed back at their heavy best and as the title-track concludes “Chaotic Nonentity” with up-tempo chaos and pummelling drumming, it’s like they’ve rolled everything from the album into one song. 

This record is concise, really well-written and performed. It’s gritty but also enjoyable. Listen to it in it’s entirety and you’ll be hooked, as it’s not one that you should dip in and out of. 2019 is still giving birth to awesome records.

You can stream "Chaotic Nonentity" and purchase it digitally below:-

Harrowed - https://www.facebook.com/HARROWED/

You can buy LP copies from the labels below:-

Feast Of Tentacles - http://feastoftentacles.limitedrun.com

SuperFi Records - https://superfirecords.limitedrun.com/categories/superfi-releases

Feast Of Tentacles - https://www.facebook.com/FeastofTentacles/

SuperFi Records - https://www.facebook.com/superfirecords/

Siorai Geimhreadh - Sitting Patiently

Labels: Box Emissions/Existentiell Records/SuperFi Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Release Date: 06 Apr 2018

Tracklist:

1. Sitting Patiently Pt.1

2. Sitting Patiently Pt.2

I've had to go a few days without writing about anything music-related and I've been getting a tad twitchy. It's not out of choice either. Thankfully, this two-track LP from Irish noise-rock trio Siorai Geimhreadh (pronounced "Sheery Geevra" or "Eternal Winter", if you prefer) landed in my inbox a little while ago and I've been a sucker for oddities of late. The band has been playing since 2005 and  have two demos and an EP to their name so far, beginning life as a black metal band. "Sitting Patiently" forms their first new music in about 6 years. 

Both songs on “Sitting Patiently” add up to over thirty-minutes and it’s thirty-minutes of insanity that is almost indescribable as first. Pt 1 instantly rattles you with a mix of what sounds like gargled-bass, improvised drumming and guitars, and vocals that bring to mind the likes of The Body and the most underground DSBM, which all continue throughout the song. I daren’t play this too loud either, as the vocal cries leap out of the recording. Musically, I guess you could call it anti-music to a certain extent as there seems to be no traditional structures present but then it is experimental in the truest sense of the word. 

If you weren’t sure what to expect with Pt.1, then Pt.2 is slightly easier to grasp and it's where Siorai Geimhreadh gets doomy. It’s still noisy, as the bass/guitar feedback buzzes away between riffs. More minimalistic in approach, the vocals this time round definitely represents the black metal of the band’s earlier years, while drone is also an overbearing addition to it all. You may find it a relief after the madness that came before and it’s here that you can really catch a glimpse of their potential to create truly uncomfortable heavy music. 

This is a record of two-sides and I’m not trying to state the obvious there. It’s certainly not for everyone but if you make it past Pt.1 and your still intact both physically and mentally then Pt.2 is worth the wait. Crazy noise-rock and furrow ploughing doom that works incredibly well. 

Stream and download "Sitting Patiently" below:-

Siorai Geimhreadh Metal Archives Page - https://www.metal-archives.com/

Vinyl copies are currently still available from SuperFi Records below:-

http://superfirecords.limitedrun.com/products

SuperFi Records - https://www.facebook.com/superfirecords

Box Emissions - https://www.facebook.com/BoxEmissions/

Existentiell Records - https://existentiell.bandcamp.com

Stuntman/Art Of Burning Water - Split 7"

Labels: Bigout Records/Ecstatic Shock/Emergence/Dingleberry Records/ Jungle Khol/Superfi Records/Wooaaargh Records

Formats: Vinyl/Digital

Tracklist:

1. Stuntman - Easy Prey

2. Art Of Burning Water - The Death Of Unconditional Love In The Age Of I-Me-Me

3. Art Of Burning Water - Don't Need (Deep Wound Cover)

The march continues unabated in 2018, with countless releases still to see the light of day. This split 7" featuring French noisy hardcore mob Stuntman and fellow Brits Art Of Burning Water is very new indeed and will hopefully help to kick you full-force into the second half of your week. It was forged out of a long friendship between both bands and is being released by a group of labels that share an equal friendship. Two heavy, fast originals and a Deep Wound cover. What's not to like?

If you want chaotic and brutally noisy hardcore, then Stuntman is most definitely your band. Metallic guitars, up-tempo blasting percussion and vocals delivered with ferocious intent should be enough for you on their song Easy Prey. However; if they’re not, then Stuntman’s combination of fast and slow heaviness will seal the deal. There’s the best of both worlds here including a heap of powerviolence-esque sludginess. 

Art Of Burning Water are known for not taking any prisoners. The Death Of Unconditional Love In The Age Of I-Me-Me is filled with huge riffs that sound more like proper hardcore stompers before the pace is upped and they fly headlong into some grinding hardcore madness. They add a cover of Deep Wound’s Don’t Need onto the end of this split and it’s ever shifting time-signatures suit them down to the ground. 

AOBW are masters at what they do and Stuntman’s added ferocity makes this split a must for fans of heavy and noisy hardcore. So many bands play this form of hardcore but both bands here deliver it in a unique way, which is exhilarating to listen to.

You can stream and grab a download of the full split below:-

Stuntman - https://www.facebook.com/stuntmannoise/

Art Of Burning Water - https://www.facebook.com/aobwmusic/

Physical copies can be ordered from the links below:-

Bigout Records - https://www.bigoutrecords.com/cat/bigout-releases/

Dingleberry Records - https://www.facebook.com/Dingleberry-records-and-distribution

Jungle Khol - https://www.facebook.com/Jungle-KHÔL

Superfi Records - http://superfirecords.limitedrun.com/

Wooaaargh Records - http://www.wooaaargh.com/

Bigout Records - https://www.facebook.com/bigoutrecords/

Superfi Records - https://www.facebook.com/superfirecords/

Wooaaargh Records - https://www.facebook.com/WOOAAARGH/

I've been unable to find store/page links for Ecstatic Shock Records or Emergence Records, so please help me out if know of any! Thanks.