Heavy music is a fractured beast. We divide everything into its own little boxes and sub genres of sub genres. For many, what truly captures the vile core of heavy music is sludge metal. By taking the blueprint that Black Sabbath laid down and shoving it through a hardcore filter you are left with something so filthy and organic it sounds like it sleeps in a cave and lives off road kill. All this is needed to be understood because A Horse Called War have created probably the best sludge metal you will hear this year.
Having been on hiatus for a number of years this is the first music the Thetford mob have created for a ridiculous amount of time (the last release was 2007!). However within the first few seconds of Good For Glue (And Nothing Else) you can tell it has been worth the wait. The EP starts with a drum roll before charging headlong into the opening track ‘Dog is Dead’ powered along by a riff so feral it sounds like it bites.
The EP is five tracks long and at just under twenty five minutes doesn’t waste a second of it’s run time. It rips along laying down solid slabs of sound feeling like its being driven along by nihilism and cheap cider. The vocals are first class and the clean singing, when it does appear, only adds to the frantic nature of the sound. What A Horse Called War excel at however is riffs and this EP is oozing with some of the most neck snapping guitar riffs recorded in 2019.
Good For Glue (And Nothing Else) is a stunning blast of pure sludge and a glorious statement of intent from one of the best bands in the UK. Just don’t leave it so long next time guys.
Good For Glue (And Nothing Else) is out 22nd November via APF Records and can be purchased here.
Words: Nathan Tyler
