Living in the rural south for the past four years has made me appreciate a lot of new things: shooting guns; survival without air conditioning; fried chicken; sweet tea; and sludge metal. When I first started going to shows in the area it took me a little while to realize that when I said “I love doom metal” most people read that as Crowbar as opposed to Shape of Despair. Well I figured it out, and I’m glad I did. As the spring is starting to change into summer, and sweat rolls down your back as you sip a PBR in the front yard there’s no better musical companion than some sludge metal.

Sometimes I’ve discover bands I love in the most unexpected places. Such is the case with Italy’s Greyswan. In early 2001 I was killing time sifting through various bands on mp3.com. It’s important to understand mp3.com was a completely different site five years ago. It was much like what MySpace has become today, except exclusively for bands. The vast majority were a waste of time, but when I heard the three tracks Greyswan were offering from their promo CD, I was blown away.