Over the years, the Heavy Metal genre has added many sub-genres to its universe. From Doom Metal to Thrash Metal, from Death Metal to Black Metal, and from Speed Metal to Power Metal, there’s a genre of Metal to satisfy any mood. Sludge Metal – which has also been called Sludge Doom – is a unique blending of Hardcore Punk and Doom Metal, yet it is performed at a slower tempo, which enables distorted, down-tuned guitars to create an atmosphere that feels heavy. Often compared to Stoner Metal, the one element that sets the two genres apart is Sludge’s Hardcore Punk influence. In essence, Sludge can be more exhilarating than Stoner or Doom Metal with its occasional forays into something a bit faster and more powerful.

While Brooklyn, New York-based trio Somnuri has been classified as a Sludge Metal band, they take the genre to new places. Featuring singer / guitarist Justin Sherrell, drummer Phil SanGiancomo, and bassist Mike Gaworecki, Somnuri has been navigating the Sludge scene since the release of their self-titled album in 2017. The following year, the group were featured on a split EP release with Godmaker before slipping back into the darkness. They reemerged in 2021 with the album NEFARIOUS WAVE, which found the group stepping up their Metal game and setting their sights on something new and exciting. The group has earned rave reviews from respected magazine such as Metal Hammer, Decibel, and Revolver, as well as Metal-related online sources all around the world.

Two years after the release of NEFARIOUS WAVE, Somnuri returns in 2023 with their third album, DESIDERIUM. Produced by Justin Mantooth and recorded at Gojira’s Silver Cord Studios, this is an album that steps things up another notch. The album contains some of their heaviest recordings yet including the key tracks “Paramnesia,” “What a Way to Go,” and “Death is the Beginning” as well as “Flesh & Blood,” “Pale Eyes,” and “Hollow Visions.” In the six years since the release of their debut album, Somnuri shows their maturity on DESIDERIUM while still retaining the dark inventiveness that blossomed on their first two albums. If you want heavy and slow Sludge Metal, there’s plenty here to enjoy, but also prepare for a new layer of heaviness that only experience can provide.

SOMNURI

DESIDERIUM

Available NOW!