Band:	Slugdge
Album:	Gastronomicon
Style:	Blackened death metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	June 2014

01. Dark Side Of The Shroom (Intro)
02. Gastronomicon
03. Lettuce Prey
04. The Sound Of Mucus
05. Slimewave Zero
06. Invertahate
07. Salters Of Madness
08. Pax Aranea

You really can get away with a lot in the realm of metal. The sheer number of different themes central to various bands and genres is part of what keeps metal interesting for me. Whether it's a depressing retelling of nautical literature at the hands of Ahab or a tale of dragon-slaying told by Rhapsody Of Fire, there will always be a huge variety of sounds to be heard and stories to be told throughout the metal universe.

I say all this because Slugdge has let loose another slab of their particularly unique brand of blackened sluggy death metal. Tales of dark incantations to summon slug lords and more otherworldly slug-centered lyrics are some of the themes on display. Fortunately, similarly to their 2013 debut Born Of Slime, the new album Gastronomicon is another fine showing of when it comes to metal, even when the lyrical content of your band is very strange, if you step up to the task musically, it can really work.

If you heard Born Of Slime, the sound of Gastronomicon shouldn't come as too much of a shock. Once again, the general sound is dark, driven by a thick, dirty guitar tone. Even though Slugdge focus on one of the most glacially slow creatures out there thematically, the pace actually does pick up in the music quite often - waves of double bass to underscore the twisting guitar riffs and even the occasional blastbeat come into play here. The guitar work in general has stepped up since the last album, and the riffs and groove of the songs seem stronger than ever.

The biggest discernible change since Born Of Slime is a slightly more melodic overall sound. It's a welcome change for me, considering the melodies in songs like "Killing Fields" really added to them, and here we have songs like "Lettuce Prey" that take it even further - and sound great doing so.

All in all, Gastronomicon is an excellent album. The ambitious amount of detail added to the songs since their debut really paid off, and as a result, Slugdge have kept their distinct sound intact while expanding upon it and offering more for the listener. It doesn't lose focus or momentum throughout listening, and each song brings out something worthwhile to the table. This album should be slithering its way through the eardrums of many for a long time to come.

It's also worth noting the band is generous enough to offer it at a name-your-price rate on their bandcamp page. I'd encourage anyone interesting in downloading the album to send a few bucks their way, as the album is definitely worth it and they put lots of work into making it sound perfectly slimy.