One of my favorite blackened sludge / doom hybrids from the UK, OPIUM LORD are back with a new record! The band has recently signed to Candlelight records and released an evil music video for the track “Challenger”. Check out the official word and the player below.
Opium Lord’s surroundings reflects their sound, born out of a small industrial town in The Black Country, in the shadow of the of the Birmingham suburbs where the genre was created; they play dark soul mailing avant sludge blending doom and math to construct their original sound.
2013 was a busy year, releasing a now sold out debut EP, playing numerous UK appearances including Supersonic Festival and headlining a tour of mainland Europe. It’s safe to say they made some pretty bold statements in what was only their first year and a half of formation.
Their debut EP “The Calendrical Cycle – Prologue: The Healer” reached critical acclaim for a two track taster of what is to come, including Terrorizer Magazine awarding it top marks in a review.
Coming soon on Candlelight Records will see the band’s first full length “The Calendrical Cycle: Eye of Earth” which promises to be far more in depth and crushing than its predecessor.
The band had this to say: “Candlelight has produced some of the biggest bands in metal since its inception, so it’s an absolute honour to join the ranks to carry on our journey. We have done a lot since we formed this little band in The Black Country and we have had a lot of support along the way, we instantly felt at home talking with the guys from the label and relationships are important to us, so here we are, signed Candlelight because of that mentality. Our debut album The Calendrical Cycle: Eye of Earth shall be with you via Candlelight Records soon.”
“Raising the freak flag for the doom-rock community” – The Arts Desk
“Woe. Misery. Drugs. Riffs. Those are some of the ingredients that make up a truly worthy sludge/doom band, and Opium Lord sound like they are daily factors in their lives.” – Terrorizer Magazine
“Well grotty, lovely stuff” – Daniel P Carter, BBC Radio 1
“The violent black pit you’ve entered is likely the best heaviness you’ll hear for some time. Embrace it.” – Heavy Planet
“The amount of delicious and mesmerising details, with a huge amount of abrasive moments will crumble your fuckin’ world” – CVLT Nation
“The desolate nature of their sludged-out sound is as miserable as it is engaging and they are a welcome addition to the doom scene” – Metal Hammer
“ You should be as excited about this band as we are” – Tight to the Nail
“They’ve managed to put forward some of the most engaging yet down right horrible doom known to man” – UK Scumscene
“Sharp and fucking painful with some serious heft behind it.” – The Sleeping Shaman
“What I love about it is, from somewhere, there’s just this feeling that this is the real deal, no bullshit, these are five guys that get in a room together to make heavy music, and you can feel the real aggression and energy they’ve poured into these songs.” – Metal Rules
