(On May 5th Pelagic Records will release a new album by the Swiss “progressive sludge” band Herod, and below we present DGR‘s review of this new record.)

Herod‘s Iconoclast is not an album you would normally prescribe for May weather, with the sun finally threatening to peak its head around a seemingly never-ending (though much appreciated) cloud season in this corner of the globe. The Swiss group’s third release is a dense block of oppressive heaviness that dresses itself in all things artificial and organic in order to become a monster attempting to fuse multiple different styles into one angular creature.

Given the amount of weapons at musician Pierre Carroz‘s disposal when it comes to Iconoclast, that monster has let its tendrils run wild to create something that is unfriendly on immediate approach, yet its sense of groove is undeniable, to the point of being near-hypnotic. Continue reading »