False Gods – Wasteland

With the sludge scene becoming more and more recognised over time, lots of bands are carving out their own niches, while giving nods to older bands in the genre. False Gods are one such band.

Wasteland opens with the almost primal drumbeats of Despot, which sound a little reminiscent of Walk With Knowledge Wisely by Crowbar. A heavy Crowbar influence can be heard throughout Wasteland, especially in the dissonant chords and guttural vocals.

Despot, unfortunately, seems rather lifeless when compared to second track Worship As Intellectual Tyranny. Blasting out of the gate, this is a really riff heavy sludge beast, with a hook of a main riff that sticks in the mind.

Eponymous track Wasteland takes on a slower and more of melancholic tone from the beginning, with the chorus taking centre stage. This chorus is the only time on Wasteland that False Gods use double tracking on the vocals, giving it an almost desperate feel that works very well.

Grant Me Revenge has more of a hard-core punk sound (there’s that Crowbar influence again) that-while granting some levity to an almost monotonous sound displayed so far on Wasteland-kind of adds nothing overall.

Final track I Can See You For What You Truly Are treads very much the same path as Wasteland, but with more of a dirge-like sound. For a new sludge band this is pretty easy fodder, but with the addition of almost melodic chords, it serves as a decent enough closer.

There are a few kinks in False Gods’ sound, but these can be ironed out over time. I think if they brought other influences into their music they may transcend this effort. Plus, if they want to do more hard-core, they may need to polish their formula.

Wasteland will be released on April 22nd, 2016 via self-release

Favourite Track:

Worship As Intellectual Tyranny

Wasteland track listing:

Falsegods are:

Greg March – Guitar

Mike Stack – Vocals

Paulie Stack – Drums

Bro Town – Bass