Let’s play the numbers game. 35. 32. 16. 14. 11. 10. 4. Who knows the key to them? You don’t? Well, then read on!
To start right away: 35 years after the band’s inception and now in their 32nd active year, California based Sludge masters -(16)- are continuing their successful path to glory without compromise with their new record, Guides for the Misguided. The record showcases all the band’s regular qualities and also displays a knack for melody which one might expect with a good Sludge band but they are keeping the melody alive with the regular idea of Sludge – not straying into Prog-Metal territory in the Baroness sense or into a Psych-Rock area that, for example, Kylesa inhabits very well. The Swamp-ladden Bayous of Down and other NOLA bands is also not the region where you can find the -(16)- sound, no theirs is surely one schooled with a lot of Indie-Rock and Hardcore-Punk which is quickly proven by the choice of their covers for Guides…: They do versions of the Bad Brains’ ”Give Thanks and Praises” and also ”Tower” by Superchunk (!) - the latter only being available as a bonus track on several editions (also digitally). Especially the second cover signifies a special thing about -(16)-, their willingness to let some sunshine rain onto the riff-ladden, rough soundscapes.
These guys might be closer to, for example, Fu Manchu than to Crowbar. One classic comparison nevertheless might be Corrosion of Conformity, and more precisely their America’s Volume Dealer record from 2022. Yes, this is much more Swamp Sludge than -(16)- but a song like ”After All”, “Fire and Brimstone Inc” or ”Kick out the Chair” could have fit the COC classic as well. But the Bad Brains-cover also signifies something about -(16)- as well: These guys have their roots more in Hardcore than in Country and Western, but do not expect these roots to show clearer than any other Sludge element, it won’t. Many other regular Sludge parts are also present: Some stomping beats strewn across the plate, a nod to classic rock here and there and a really mighty voice, as Bobby Ferry has returned to the position behind the lead mic for several years now. Do not get me wrong: If you like the aforementioned bands, or also the Melvins, Eyehategod or the again-talk-of-the-town Acid Bath, then this record is something for you, it really is!
Thematically the band has been turning to more outside topics and less introspective themes: ”Proudly Damned” talks about the idea of addiction as having a kind of spiritual element to it, while also promoting (self-)harm rather than searching for a way out. In that sense addiction becomes a destructive social scourge. One of the coolest tracks on Guides… talk about that, the nearly Post-Punkish ”Blood Atonement Blues” which features a seductive piano intro. On another level the song also talks about Ervil LeBaron, the Mormon Manson, who led a Mormonic cult killing numerous people in the San Diego area in the early 70s on Ervil’s command; Ervil’s sect had the idea of atoning for crimes/sins by letting the blood of the sinner fall onto the ground, roughly said. ”After All” deals with the problematic notion behind organized religion, which oftentimes fails its members and families. One can see a red thread here? Yes, institutionalized religion/belief as a negative factor in and for society. Not a new topic, but one hardly ever clad in such amazing Sludge. But is pure hate always THE answer? No, as ”Fortress of Hate” shows us – using hate as your driving force will end in the resurrection of inner, insurmountable walls locking you away from the despised outside world. Looking at the lyrics of this record surely helps you to understand the idea of the four-piece even further, food for thought is surely giving as well as head-nodding.
After several line-up changes (the band in total had 14 band members in their time of existence), Bobby is back on the mic and leads the audience through ten (or eleven, if you also get the Superchunk-cover-bonus track), the band is on a roll and did not hesitate to get these songs done as they want to keep their creative juices flowing. I hope they continue to do so, because basically any -(16)- record is a great record. Guides for the Misguided definitely is!
