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Unearthing the Metal Underground: Italy's Sludge Keeper

Poland’s Selfmadegod Records has maintained a high standard for years. So it’s with little surprise, then, that one of the label’s newest bands, Sludge Keeper, is jaw-dropping on many levels. The Italian death metal band’s debut album, “Slough Of Despair,” set for release on Friday, July 14, is jarring and violent yet extremely well-composed and atmospheric. A recent press release is daring in bringing up points of reference that include Hate Eternal, Morbid Angel, Internecine and Vitriol. But the comparisons are legitimate.

Inverted Matter’s Andrea Tocchetto conceived the death metal studio project in 2020, and high caliber guest musicians, including drummer Kevin Paradis (Benighted, Mithridatic) and bassist Marco Mastrobuono, were pulled into the fold. Tocchetto and company clearly took their time with “Slough Of Despair,” as the album was recorded between 2020 and 2022. The unit’s main-man/frontman’s patience and attention to detail have resulted in a remarkable album that’s vast in scope, dramatic and confident in execution. A songs like “Coelacanth” is completely in the vein of Hate Eternal. “Summon of the deeper muds” bridges the gap between that band and Morbid Angel. But there is more than hero worship at play. This song boasts, fluid, prog soloing and a pseudo doom dirge that prove that Tocchetto is trying to carve his own niche. This is a promising debut, to say the least.