The Sledge birthed from the ashes of Hjortene, ready to drop debut On the Verge Of Nothing

Releasing on June 15th, The Sledge's debut On the Verge Of Nothing is a kick-ass sonic ride through the psychedelic desert of soundscapes created by this new group, risen from the ashes of another band like the proverbial Phoenix of lore.  The Sledge are created from the rubble of what once was Danish fuzz-bomb band Hjortene.  They made a name for themselves opening for the likes of Valient Thorr, Truckfighters and Fu Manchu and developed a following in Scandinavia.  "We added Magnus on vocals and the new songs are way more tuned down, and slower and heavier, but of course you can hear where we come from musically," said the band.

On the Verge Of Nothing was recorded live in the studio over the course of just two days.  All of the basic tracks, guitar, bass, drums, were played live and done in one room live with no headphones and no stuido windows "to obscure the energy," the band explained.  It was just amplifiers and drums.  Afterward the band dubbed vocals and invited friends to contribute.  Lorenzo Woodrose (Baby Woodrose On Trial) "is all over the album.  He just came, hung out and delivered... a lot of percussion and harmony vocals."

Bo Morthren from stoner psych legends On Trial  did vocals for a blue, paired down track, and Lorenzo backed him up.  "It was like bringing On Trial together for a song again."

That track I feel certain is "Curtains" and is among my favorite tracks on the record.  It, jazzy closer "Flammehav" and lead single "179 Liars" are the standouts, and the hilarious "Like Shit" track, but honestly it's probably intended to be a 40-some second long lark.  The band is having us on.  But anyway.

From the Sabbathesque stomp of "Tantra I: War Wig" to the  Black Keys style blues number "Curtains," it's clear that The Sledge want to experiment with a variety of genres of rock on this record.  "We were not setting out to make a classic stoner album... and we think you can hear that."

"Death Drome Doline" actually reminded me of a lot of Primus' "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" and I

really dug Claus' heady bass and the bottom heavy guitar riffing on this one.  The bluesy "Curtains" follows.  The Hammond organ is a really nice addition here, it compliments the four piece without stepping on toes.  It's just noticeable enough, a deft touch.  And the jam at the 4:10 mark, oh man, I thought the song was going to carry on that way to conclusion a la "Paradise City" but it took another turn and surprised me.

"Running Down the Mountain" is a short and sweet jam that gets us on to the first single "179 Liars", a hellacious cut.  Fades in with that organ again, then bam, guitar, drum kicks in and we're off.  This is one of Magnus' strongest vocals.  He really stretches himself.  You can hear Lorenzo backing in places very nicely.  Palle's guitar solo has an awesome psychedelic effect thrown on it near the conclusion.

What can I say about the brief interlude rap "Like Shit" except to say maybe that it sounds "Like Shit" and I mean that in a good way.

The longest track with vocals is the bluesy rocker "Yet Untitled."  This is probably the most "stoner" moment on the album.  It's clearly owes a debt to the likes of Sabbath, Aerosmith, Zeppelin, even Deep Purple, but so too to some of the bands the members have been touring with such as Fu Manchu and Truckfighters.

Finally we come to the nine and half minute closing instrumental track, which is a jazzy, spacey, hot number.  I love the effects, and Claus' bass just rips at the beginning.  There's a sax solo, Kim beats the drums like hell throughout.  It's not until after the sax solo really that I took notice of Palle's six string acrobatics, with range from mellow and smooth to smoking hot.  I LOVE this cut.

All in all this is a terrific album I rate it a full on 90 out of 100.  It's a really great listen.

From The Sledge's Press Info: Anders Onsberg Hansen (Baby Woodrose, Spids Nogenhat) did the recordings in Copenhagen and for the mixing and mastering the band brought in some heavyweight champions in the rock business: Matt Bayles (Mastodon, The Sword, Isis) did the mixes in Seattle, and Dave Collins (Soundgarden, Fu Manchu, QOTSA, Black Sabbath, Metallica) did the mastering in Las Angeles.  "We wanted to take everything a step further, and did no compromises in choosing who to work with."  The Sledge will release their debut album On the Verge Of Nothing on 15th of June via German label Kozmik Artifactz on heavy gatefold LP.

Kozmik Artifactz Facebook page.