Now celebrating their tenth anniversary, Ten Ton Slug have steadily built a strong reputation in the live arena having shared the stage with bands such as Black Label Society, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, Conan and Jinger to name just a few. Other than the release of the standalone track Hunting Ground in 2019, this is the first significant release since their EP Blood and Slime in 2017. Colossal Oppressor is the band’s debut full-length album.
Opener track, The Ooze initially belies what is to come with a minute long acoustic based introduction but such is the sense of unease that Ten Ton Slug create, that the listener never settles and the arrival of the first gargantuan riff comes as something of a relief. From this moment on and throughout almost all of the rest of the album, the band build such formidably colossal riffs, vocals of hypnotic tension from Rónán Ó hArrachtáin and layers of sound that the thought of the immense gastropod on the cover moving ever onwards is never out of mind. On The Ooze and second track Balor, Ten Ton Slug create a viscous musical slime but never threaten to become bogged down. The co-existence of sludge, doom and at times slow, heavy thrash influences meld in wondrous bludgeoning harmony.
Aptly titled, the album concerns itself with themes of oppression in many forms. Ancient Ways, a single released ahead of the album, dives into themes of self-empowerment, resilience and determination to overcome challenges. There is also an emphasis on the old, perhaps instinctual methods of self-reliance to assert control over our own lives. Ancient ways prevail / Gaining strength to kill / Oath to yourself fulfilled / You are your own god now / In the face of giants / A drive to succeed / A fight you cannot quit / Your mind you’re conquering. Ten Ton Slug’s titanic but compelling riff building adds to the confrontational belligerence in the lyrics. With unmistakeable groove and a sonorous, almost heavy blues influenced guitar solo from Sean Sullivan, the band draw the listener inexorably to their cause.
Colossal Oppressor could never be described as anything but crushingly intense - albeit it is achieved with an incredible control of the sonic template the band convey. However, on fourth track Brutus, the addition of vocal contributions by Karl Willetts (Memoriam / Bolt Thrower) ramps up the aggression to produce some of the heaviest moments of the album. Mindless and Blind is both an admonishment and a warning, with a strong undercurrent of the inevitably of karma or justice. It speaks to the human condition, societal collapse and personal responsibility, with the theme of negligence or wilful ignorance at its heart. One ignored the wisdom given / Now she chokes on its ash… For those who are blind / Things comes at a price / The guilt and shame / The blind are dead. Beginning with a chugging repeated riff, Mindless and Blind quickly conjures a foreboding mood, begging the listener to take heed. As the track progresses, the vocals become increasingly imploring, anguished and cacophonous. A futile...attempt to save a brother / Eternal...anger now shrouds the past. Ten Ton Slug certain understand how to build atmosphere and Mindless and Blind is among the best examples.
As the astronomically sized mollusc recovers steadily from its tyrannical odyssey of oppression on the short instrumental Ghosts of the Ooze, it gives the listener time to prepare for the next onslaught. Mallacht an tSloda translates as The Curse of the Sludge and is sung entirely in Gaelic. Pavol Rosa’s bass is deliciously rampant; there is an urgency to the riffs and an increase in tempo that we have not yet truly witnessed on the album to this point. Final track Mogore the Unkind – an almost ten-minute epic - details the collapse of the Hittite Empire, which was centred in modern day Turkey  - and parts of Syria and Iraq - in the Late Bronze Age. Its fall has been blamed on various factors including war, invasion and climate change. At the start, Ten Ton Slug slow things down once again, fully embracing their doom influences as they take their time to draw out the narrative. As the multi-part song develops, the band deliver some of the most mountainously prodigious riffs of their career during a sludge laden section, complete with deep, throaty guttural cries. With the album approaching its final minute, the drums increase in tempo with a blistering ferocity until the slug comes crashing down, ending both Mogore the Unkind and Colossal Oppressor with a final earth destroying chord.
The incredibly striking album cover – an original acrylic painting on wood by Adam Burke of Nightjar Illustration – will no doubt capture the interest of some fans cursorily scrolling through the pages of metal releases. However, this is an album that more than lives up to its cover and it demands your attention. The excellent production qualities allow the band to maintain their heaviness without compromising on the vast number of intricacies to be found throughout the album’s forty-one minutes. With Colossal Oppressor, Ten Ton Slug have taken their sound, developed, embellished and honed it into one of the most rewarding and captivating doom sludge albums of recent years. Follow the ooze….
Colossal Oppressor is released on 1st May 2024
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