Iron City Sludge: Heavy Music and Art in the Southeast

09/01/2024

Just updated my cloudspot gallery with last month’s show pictures! Iron City Sludge: Heavy Music and Art in the Southeast

Image gallery by Iron City Sludge

08/31/2024

Had a blast at The Guild grand opening last night in Jasper! David and Sonya have a special place for the local gaming community to check out and support! You can pick up the newest MTG decks, Pokémon boosters, video games and more and you can also get tattooed while you’re there! James Fulkerson stepped up last minute to play an acoustic set and did a great job of starting off the night musically! Spirit Guardian Music was next and I had a great time playing music for a crowd of mostly new faces! The Casket Kids closed out the night with a killer set of their signature horror punk! My favorites from those guys are Dead City Ripper, Midnight and Where Wolves Howl! Shoutout to Kicken Cowboy Food Truck for providing the delicious hot dogs and nachos for the event!

Picture of Spirit Guardian taken by Amelia Aitken!

08/26/2024

The very first Alt Art Market was last night at True Story Brewing Company and hosted 9 vendors and 4 musical acts! This is the first of a recurring market that is hosted by the Alt Art Market group which includes Johnny and Stephanie Welch (Wolfie Tango Foxtrot), Day Knight ( ‘n Day Artificery), myself and Gloria Aitken Art. The other vendors on hand were Nick Mitchell art, Simian Conundrum, Back-Ali cryptid, The Walter Moore Ape Series, The Futile Jewelry, and Chuy’s Ceramics! The first musical act to take the stage was Spirit Guardian Music and I had a blast kicking off the show! Pictures of me were taken by my amazing wife, Gloria! Next to take the stage were my friends, No Asylum! They’re a political punk band from Huntsville and they always leave it all on the stage! Bo, Bill and Johnny were joined by fill in bassist, Brian Murphree who has played with Bill in his long running band, Random Conflict! These guys had only had 1 practice together with him on bass but they absolutely killed it and were tight! The songs are heavily political and speak out against fascism, and discrimination amongst other things. Bo’s energy is frenetic on stage and after their set I told him I was worried he was going to get hurt to which he replied, “It’s okay, I bounce”. The passion these guys feel about their songs is clear to co-opt something Bill says, these guys always rage when they play! I was thrilled to get a vinyl copy of their album, “As Long As We Have Tomorrow, We Will Always Have Hope”, with artwork that was done by Gloria! Check it out!! It’s always a pleasure to see these guys perform and talk to them off stage! Next up was The Delirium Effect, a metalcore band from Arkansas! Their bassist, Brett is friends will Bill and this was the first time in over 8 years that they have had a show together! The band consists of Alex (vocals), Storm (guitar), Brett (bass), and Jordan (drums), and they absolutely crushed! It was also Storm’s bday! Well, two days before at least but that didn’t stop the band from bringing it up multiple times which lead to Storm taking a jello shot on stage to celebrate. These guys were heavy, and tight and had killer breakdowns and riffs! These guys will have a video coming out in the near future with LCY Media so keep your eyes peeled for that and check out their newest release, Point Blank! The last band to take the stage was Shadows of the Wind who play songs from some of the greatest heavy metal bands of all time! The band is lead by Jane Crow on vocals and keytar, with Josh Jarvis on lead guitar, Jimmy Branham on bass, and and Skohti Hamilton on drums. Jane’s vocal range is seriously impressive and at times borders on operatic, which perfectly fits the songs. Josh is a ripping lead guitarist and not even technical difficulties could slow him down! The band was tight and played songs from Sabbath, Judas Priest, Wasp, and even played one of my favorite Rainbow songs, “Gates of Babylon!” They killed it and did an awesome job closing out the night! They are working on expanding their set lists to include even more awesome bands moving forward! Thanks to all of the performers and all of the artists who came for the first market, and come check out next month’s all acoustic Alt Art Market on September 28th! Thanks to True Story, Leon, Grace and everyone else for making it an amazing night!

08/24/2024

Getting ready to officially start the first Alt Art Market! We’ve got art of all mediums on hand including jewelry, ceramics, art prints as well as life music starting at 6!! Don’t miss out!

08/18/2024

Pictures from last night’s show at True Story Brewing Company! Thanks to everyone who came out!

Bad Hygiene were up first and consists of Alex (lead vocal/guitar), Jason (guitar/vocal), Chris (bass), Elliot (drums) and welcoming back Jordan on keys! They are consistently a great live band and one of my favorites to see! They play catchy rock n roll that at times is dancy and dark with great guitar interplay! I loved hearing the addition of the keys in the mix and they ended their set with Alex on his back on stage playing guitar while Jason was tearing up a guitar solo! Check out their album, Killer High Life!

squares were up next and feature Paul (vocals/tambourine), Justin (guitar/vocals), Andy (bass/vocals), and Ra-jaan (drums). The band is another one of my favorites to see and they always put forth 110% into every show! The crowd was definitely feeding off their energy and they got moving several times throughout their set. Paul is such a fun frontman to watch and he really holds your attention throughout the set! The whole band were donning red button down shirts with ties and Paul even put on a fun monster mask later on in the set as he ran around on and off stage! The rhythm section really propels the band and lays a great foundation for the angular and p***y guitar work! Check out their latest, Dulces Funarios!

Smoochyface were the last to take the stage and they came over from Atlanta for this show! The band is the brainchild of Randy Garcia, who currently plays drums and sings vocals and is rounded out by Melissa on vocals, Whitney on bass and Chris on guitar! I was super excited to see them and they didn’t disappoint! They play nerd inspired power pop with catchy melodies over complex chord changes and harmonies. Their vocal melodies and harmonies were really excellent and blended together perfectly! They all are fantastic players who serve the songs but have moments where they shine as well! Their latest release is called “The History Of Light and Shadow”, and is available on bandcamp and physical formats! Thanks to True Story for having us, thanks to all the bands for an amazing show, thanks the to the artists, Stokehold Art and Gloria Aitken Art for setting up, and thanks again to everyone who supported! And special thanks to Leon and Grace for their help and hard work!

08/16/2024

Kicking off soon True Story Brewing Company! Nowhere Squares, Smoochyface, Bad Hygiene at True Story Brewing!

Bad Hygiene will be taking the stage around 7:30 so get on down!

08/16/2024

Excited for this super fun lineup tonight! True Story Brewing Company, $10, all ages! 3 killer bands and artists/vendors!! Bring the whole fam and hang out!

08/15/2024

Pictures from Saturday’s show True Story Brewing Company!

Jack The Elbow
Spirit Guardian Music (pictured courtesy Caleb Wilemon and Gloria Aitken Art)
Tellurian Complex
The Crimson Mask

Thanks to everyone who came and made it a great evening! Jack the Elbow kicked it off with some proggy goodness, with songs full of catchy melodies and impeccable musicianship by all three members! These guys all rip and have really amazing voices and harmonies! Make sure to check out their newest single, “Vow”, on streaming platforms! Next up was, Spirit Guardian. Thank you to everyone for hanging out and supporting my set. It was a really challenging week and the support of everyone was very uplifting! Tellurian Complex took the stage after and took us into some down tuned, melodic death metal territory! This was their first show back since last year and these guys crushed it! The musicianship is also top notch in this band and they played two stellar Mastodon covers, “Mother Puncher”, and, “Blood and Thunder!” Check out their new album, “From Below!” Last to take the stage was the Crimson Mask! These guys always play their asses off, but Saturday was something special! From the opening gong hits of their set they were off and running and putting on an absolutely crushing set! They even broke out a new, unreleased track that absolutely ripped and I can’t wait to own a copy of! Thanks to all the bands for a stellar night of playing, and support for each other. Thanks to our True Story Family, Grace and Leon, and everyone that came out and made it a great night!

08/07/2024

This is a couple of days away and I’d really love to see some familiar faces at it. I know it’s going to be hard to get through but I think I need it.

Jack The Elbow goes on at 7 to start the evening . Clean vox, catchy songs, killer musicianship and a power trio

Spirit Guardian Music is 2nd. Instrumental metal that follows the journey of the “astral voyager”

Tellurian Complex goes on 3rd, harsh vocals, killer riffs, heavy modern melodic death metal

The Crimson Mask closes the evening with their unique blend of psychedelic death metal. Some of the nicest and most talented local musicians as well

Vendors will be setup as well, all ages and $10. Come support local

07/27/2024

Gojira on the Olympics was pretty awesome yesterday! If you enjoyed that then I think you’ll also enjoy this show coming up! We won’t have the pyro budget but these bands all rip!

07/19/2024

For the last few years I have gone to more shows than I can count and taken thousands of photos. More and more lately I’m finally feeling like I’m doing a good job at it and get genuinely excited to edit the shots from shows. About two weeks ago I stumbled across this website that would allow me to host a good chunk of those photos in one spot and I finally want to share it with everyone! Seeing it all in one place makes me incredibly proud of how far I’ve come! Thanks to all of the amazing bands and to Gloria for teaching me how to edit great photos!

Image gallery by Iron City Sludge

07/19/2024

Hey Vendors,

I have a few spots left at these events coming up in a few weeks! The first two you can message me about personally if you want to vend!
For the Alt Art Market, please follow this link to apply to vend! https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/d/e/1FAIpQLScKFqMPVfJ9PTYWEjlHA3kLdoZZu1s-09n6FVnxKUsI6NUzgg/viewform?usp=send_form&pli=1

07/19/2024

Show announcement! August 10th at True Story Brewing Company! I’m thrilled to bring another night of heavy music and art to the area with this lineup! Vendors, If you’re interested in vending this please message me again even if we’ve spoken already because spots are limited!!!

The Crimson Mask
Tellurian Complex
Spirit Guardian Music
Jack The Elbow

07/18/2024

I know a ton of bands but lately there’s been so much change that I’m not sure who is active anymore. So, if you’re in a metal band and you’re active please give me a shout! Iron City Sludge: Heavy Music and Art in the Southeast

07/16/2024

Saturday, there was a killer metal show at True Story Brewing Company Pleasant Valley, Die With Nature and The Crimson Mask. I was on hand to run sound as well as document the evening! Pleasant Valley kicked off the night with heavy fuzz guitar and bashing, groove heavy drums! The father-son duo always serves up a healthy dose of stoner/doom goodness, and they definitely delivered this time! These guys had just gotten in from their previous night’s show in Mississippi and you could tell they were feeling energized! Jamie was playing a brand new telecaster he had picked up and it sounded huge! Kyle’s jazzy-rock drumming provides the perfect backdrop to Jamie’s riffs without overpowering them. The guys even busted out their version of “Love Theme” by Kiss! I got to pick up a rad clear 7 in. of their new Ep, “Fuzz War”, which they recorded with Cope Till at Strident Trax Studios in Montgomery! It sounds killer and you should definitely check it out! Next up was Die With Nature from Jackson, MS! Zach (guitar/vocals), Austin (guitar/vocals), Michael (bass/vocals), and Jake (drums) make up the band and they describe their style as “sludge punk”. These guys consistently blow me away live but this Saturday they were on fire! These guys also have huge, fuzzy guitar riffs with killer guitarmonies, and an incredibly heavy and fuzzy bass tone! These guys have elements of punk, sludge, hardcore, stoner and rock and somehow make them all blend and sound natural. These guys always play with such passion on stage and put on a killer show! Check out their new single called “Blast For Me”, as well as, “A Void Hymn”, (some fantastic drum work on this one!) to hear what these guys are working on! Last to take the stage were The Crimson Mask from Bham! They are a 3 piece, psych-death band fronted by Allen Eaton on vocals/guitar, Andrew Young on bass/keys/gong, and Said Villamar on drums. I’ve seen and played a handful of shows with these guys and they were as ever, consummate professionals, once again! They started off with a trippy piece that started quietly and built up to a huge crescendo before they dropped the hammer! These guys all rip on their respective instruments and were clearly feeling what every other band had been feeling that night as they put on a killer closing set! Allen’s guttural vocals and crushing guitar riffs are backed by Said’s technical but tasteful drumming, and rounded out by Andrew’s top notch bass playing and psychedelic layers of keys. They really bring so many elements together just as well and always put on an amazing show! They played some unreleased stuff that absolutely killed and has me excited for their next release! Make sure to check out their latest release, Tales of Mayhem and Madness!

07/08/2024

Pictures of The Casket Kids and long cold stare from RideBHM!

07/07/2024

Pictures of Skeptic? Birmingham, AL, Mara Nagra, Towering-Above and Bad Hygiene from True Story Brewing Company!

07/02/2024

Pictures from Saturday’s show! Featuring Horror Party, RATH & the Wise Guys, Boomstick, and The Pumpkin Fkers at True Story Brewing Company. Thanks to all who came out and supported the bands!

06/23/2024

Pictures from the Mechanyzed record release show last night True Story Brewing Company! The rest of the lineup featured myself, Spirit Guardian Music (not pictured for obvious reasons), as well as DROOD and Formulus!
I kicked off the night and had such an amazing time and an amazing response from the crowd and I’m so appreciative! Next was DROOD who just wreck every time I’ve ever seen them! Their ability to switch between death metal riffs with blast beats to groove heavy riffs and then bounce back again just floors me every time! A little about the band, Bill is such a badass frontman and his vocals cover just about the whole range of harsh styles! He gets so caught up and lost in the music which is exactly what makes him a killer frontman! Ryan and Jon are stupidly tight and both those guys rip on the bass and drums respectively! Damon legitimately has one of the tightest picking hands I’ve EVER seen and is constantly coming up with and throwing down some of the sickest riffs! Their energy last night was off the charts and they had folks moving in the pit! Next was Formulus! They started by announcing their bass player was unfortunately not able to make it and then proceeded to play a crushing set! These guys were throwing down some of the meanest and most evil sounding riffs of the night! Kenny’s vocals live mostly in guttural range but he was also hitting some crazy high screams at points too! Jake and Murray are both riffing machines who were incredibly synced up and with no bass to mask anything I was super impressed with the fact I heard not a single dropped note! These guys were trem picking and riffing and shredding and throwing some sick guitarmonies in throughout! Bobby is a machine on drums! He was rocking the classic double bass setup and going from blast beats, to lightning fast fills all while still getting vocals in! This was my first time seeing Formulus and I absolutely loved it! These guys ripped at not even full power so I can’t wait to hear them with bass! Lastly was Mechanyzed! Andrew put this whole show together and did such an amazing job! The camaraderie amongst the crowd and all the bands was truly special! Mechanyzed featured Andrew on guitar/vocals, Matt on guitar, Etzar on bass and Said on drums. These guys played seriously one of the best and tightest sets I’ve ever seen from them! Said is just one of my favorite drummers to watch, and to be clear every drummer tonight was incredible! Said plays with a smile on his face all while pushing the band and keeping up the energy! Etzar is locked in tightly with his brother and brings a steadiness and almost zen like stage presence while Andrew and Matt rip some of the most absurdly technical guitar solos over the top of it all. These guys fretboards were smoking at one point in pretty sure! Andrew’s vocals hit that classic thrash style perfectly and are 99.9% clean through the set. Andrew brought up how they’ve now carved out space on the next album for some bass solos and then the next song started with just bass and the whole crowd cheered! The smile on Etzar’s face was priceless! The metal community really showed up and came together last night for special evening! Huge thanks the whole True Story team for the incredible hospitality as usual, shoutout to Deon and Leon for holding down the front door and security respectively and a huge shoutout to Joseph Higgins for being such a standup guy and helping me get the sound up and running and then trusting me with it! These bands are all local so please check them out and support!!

06/18/2024

Pictures of Penny Circus, zone and Commodity from Druid City Brewing Company!

06/15/2024

Pictures from Metal Night True Story Brewing Company featuring EMBR, Crown the Sinner, Stoneman - Atl, Nolan's Flight and Septarian! Follow and support these amazing bands!

06/12/2024

Pictures from last weeks Punk Night at True Story June! Featuring at The Casket Kids, Red Hot Empty and Disincentive!!

It was a blast of a night and all of these bands killed! Give them a follow and a listen and catch them live!!

06/05/2024

PxUKE Goes to College!!! Was such a fun show! I loved every band that played and it was great to see so many familiar faces come together to send Stephen off in style!

Mad Cow is a 2 piece “egg-punk” band from Auburn and they were a blast!! Their music was just so much fun and had me smiling the whole set! Musically it’s a loose punk influence with comedy thrown in, his vocals at time remind me of early Eagles of Death Metal with a tinge of Devo thrown in. These guys were so fun and the crowd was moving their whole set!

Triangle Fire was next and they never disappoint! They are absolutely some of my favorite people off the stage and on stage they
are killers! With a mix of gutturals, screams and singing and guitars that go from death metal riffs to dancy, and drums that are just ridiculous they have something for everyone! Catch them on tour this summer!!

Billy Batts & The Made Men are a 3 piece punk band from Atlanta that features brothers Brody and Andy on vocals/guitar and drums/vocals respectively with new bassist/vocalist, Noel from Orphan Riot. These guys always rip it up and play breakneck almost nonstop the whole set! I really enjoyed hearing some of the new songs live for the first time and excited to hear the new album once it’s finished! The band tours all the time and is about to be on the road again! Go see them for some of the best punk rock around!!

Last was Grasping At Pieces to close the evening. The 4 piece started as a project for Stephen “pXuke” Gilmore and turned into one of the best punk bands in the state in just a couple years! The 4 piece version had sounded absolutely amazing with Eric on drums, Chris on bass, Adam on guitar/vocals and Stephen on lead vocals and guitar. They played a top notch set and had the crowd going nuts the whole time! It was definitely bittersweet knowing this is the last one of their shows and I’m hoping they do more in the future! My buddy, Crash joined them on stage for a screaming version of “Don’t touch my vans” and the crowd ate it up! I’m looking forward to what’s next for Stephen now that he’ll be in Bham for school.

I had such a blast at this show and there was an amazing turnout overall!

06/04/2024

Pictures from the last Punk Rock Art Show at True Story Brewing Company! The lineup featured Miller Pierson, The Resurrected, and Evil Eye!

Miller was down from the Detroit area with his sidekick, Cody, his dachshund! Miller’s music was acoustic folk with great storytelling and earnestness! I had a great chat with Miller before and after the show and really loved getting to hear him perform! I loved how he interspersed stories throughout his set and kept the audience engaged and connected. If you’re into raw, acoustic music then please check him out!

The Resurrected is a Bham based, horror punk solo project by Jeremy Johnson. The music is catchy as hell and Jeremy does an awesome job holding it all down solo! He does a killer cover of Halloween (the misfits song but based on the AFI version!) too! My favorite of his is “Dead Girl” which was born from his love of Tim Burton movies!

DS120 are a 6 piece alternative/punk band from the Bham area. The band’s energy is constant through the set and their style ranges from straight forward punk, to rock, grunge and more! These guys are one of the most unique bands around and I love the joy they bring to the stage every time they play! They can rock, be funny, or be serious like when Phil had some spoken word poetry in the set.

Evil Eye are a 3 piece punk/avant garde/hard rock band from the Jasper area. They mix up the styles as well but it’s all heavily rooted in rock with a sardonic sense of wit to it all. Joseph’s vocal range is really impressive and often overlooked! He’s such a theatrical performer and his banter with his band and the crowd keep everyone smiling throughout! DS120 was throwing down in the pit during their set and you always love to see bands supporting each other! I’m pretty sure Joseph also dislocated his finger mid set and kept playing!

It was a great night and showcased a lot of artists of varying styles!

06/02/2024

Pictures from Iron City Sludge Presents: EMBR, Florist, Kalgon and Spirit Guardian at True Story Brewing!

This was the first show I had run in almost a year and it was a doozy! Spirit Guardian Music (me) opened the night and I saw so many familiar faces front and center during my set! Thanks!

Kalgon are a three piece, psychedelic stoner doom band from Asheville. The songs were lumbering and heavy but melodic with killer playing by all three members! I love the use of a Telecaster in heavy music and the tones these guys had live were incredible! The vocals were gruff but still clear and it reminded me of early Elder! Absolutely check these guys out and support their self titled album!!

Florist are a 4 piece stoner/space doom band from Tampa. I was absolutely loving the use of synth and theremin throughout their set! The band at moments reminds me of Howling Giant (a personal fave!), with some Sleep thrown in there as well. The riffs were heavy and catchy and they even had some straight up rock n roll moments mixed in!

EMBR are a 4 piece stoner/doom band from Bham. They place a mix of heavy riffs with quieter moments that ultimately build to huge crescendos and vocals that range from clean to full on screams! The songs are all full of killer riffs and melodies and are propelled by a killer rhythm section! On top of their originals, they played an awesome version of Heart Shaped Box! Thanks to Erik for helping put together this awesome lineup! I’m loving the new self titled record on splatter vinyl as well!!

Thanks to Gloria Aitken Art for her help and support, thanks to Grace and Chris for helping with door, and to all the other friends and new friends who showed up to support! True Story Brewing Company continues to support us and we’re incredibly grateful for them as well!!

05/31/2024

Pictures from last week’s Hans Gruber and the Die Hards w frinz show!
Hans Gruber and the Die Hards
Ramblin' Ricky Tate
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