In world of metal we often witness the most unexpected and audacious musical ventures. This time, the protagonists are doom metal supergroup known as Slower, which have unleashed their dark and heavy adaptation of Slayer‘s iconic track, ‘War Ensemble.’
The eerie, crawling pace of Slower‘s rendition offers a stark contrast to the relentless speed of the original. They have successfully managed to infuse the track with a sinister twist and a sense of impending doom, creating an atmosphere that’s both haunting and enthralling. It’s as if the very essence of sludge metal has been interwoven with Slayer‘s iconic track. Did we mention the cover goes on for 11 minutes?
Now, if you are wondering who are these guys, well, the Slower‘s line-up is made of singers Amy Barrysmith (Year Of The Cobra) and Laura Pleasants (Kylesa), guitarist Bob Balch (Fu Manchu), bassist Peder Bergstrand (Lowrider) and Scott Reeder (Fireball Ministry, ex-Kyuss) plus drummer Esben Willems (Monolord). As you can see, the sludge-metal pedigree here is off the charts.
Their self-titled debut album due out January 26th on Heavy Psych Sounds. And as to why they selected the Slayer‘s track as their opening-statement single, some band members have offered their thoughts.
“I was 13 when “Seasons In The Abyss” came out.” said guitarist Bob Balch. “I had been playing guitar non-stop for a little over a year by then. I desperately wanted to play ‘War Ensemble‘ but it was way too fast for me at the time. I had no idea how they jumped from string to string during that verse riff. Therefore, I really enjoyed digging into this tune and finally locking in that verse riff! I also think this song is a great representation of how we approached the rest of the record. Enjoy!”
“When Bob first approached me with the idea and I heard his scratch guitars, my first thought was ‘This is genius.’ Those iconic tracks we all know by heart suddenly unveiled an unexpected dimension. I’m really proud of how this turned out.” drummer Esben Willems added.
“This might be blasphemous considering the circumstances, but when Bob reached out and asked if I’d want to play bass on sludged-out Slayer covers, I had to admit some of these tracks were brand new to me.” confess bassist Peder Bergstrand. “That made the experience even more special though, hearing and playing on the Slower version first, and then comparing to the original. Bob has really transformed these songs into something totally their own, and on a personal level I feel the rest of the band’s insane performances pushed me to my most inspired playing to date. So incredibly stoked for people to hear this album.”
Pre-order for the albums are underway HERE.
