Afghan Haze – Sermons of Filth and Disgust

 

Afghan Haze – Sermons of Filth and Disgust
Self-released – 2025
Metal, Doom, Sludge
Rated: ****

“Can you hear me? Let me get one thing straight… This is just the beginning…" Aaaargh!!! Stepping into Sermons of Filth and Disgust is like opening a doorway into a crumbling world, one painted in ash, soaked in gasoline, and lit by the flickering flame of a dying joint. Afghan Haze don’t so much invite you in as they drag you, kicking and hallucinating, through their most volatile creation yet. From the opening seconds of Copperheads, the air thickens with distortion. It’s slow, deliberate, and crawling with menace. The riffs lurch like a predator out of the swamp, filthy and bloated, while the vocals spit out visions of everlasting doom, and all the evil and paranoia that comes with them. There's an unshakable "weedian" haze surrounding the track, a spiritual continuation of the band’s earlier work, now infected with something darker, like someone dropped a tab of nihilism into their bong water.

You’re Marked kicks down the door next, trading in the sludgy crawl for a more vicious pace. There’s a psychedelic shimmer here, brief flashes of cosmic wonder buried beneath layers of grime, but it doesn’t last. Soon, the band veers into thrash-tinged territory, slicing through the haze with razor-sharp precision. You can feel the sneer in every riff, the contempt dripping from each line. It’s like being on a bad trip in a collapsing city, where the buildings breathe and the shadows scream. Then comes The Butcher, and with it, a turning point. This is where the album begins to spiral inward and downwards. The riffs feel ceremonial, like funeral processions marching through swampland, and the vocals take on a detached, almost feral tone. Like rusted metal, Afghan Haze twists it all into something uniquely their own: part blackened doom, part cosmic dread, part back-alley sludge.

As the second half of the album unfolds, the world Afghan Haze have created becomes more unhinged. With every track that follows you seem to descent deeper into Dante’s hell. And yet, buried within all this chaos are moments of unexpected clarity. A riff that hits just right. A solo that screams louder than any words. A brief, crushing silence before another wall of fuzz obliterates the space. There’s a track-by-track rage that builds here, not the performative kind, but the kind that feels lived-in. Afghan Haze sound truly pissed off. Not at anything specific, but at everything. And rather than scream into the void, they’ve built a cathedral of filth and disgust to echo their fury. By the time the final notes ring out, you’re left dazed. The record doesn’t end; it releases you. You’re spit out on the other side, ears ringing, brain humming, soul just a little more corroded. Sermons of Filth and Disgust isn’t just another heavy album, it’s an experience, a bad dream you willingly re-enter. For anyone chasing that raw, nerve-ripping sound born from the underbelly of Doom, Sludge, and Stoner Metal, Afghan Haze are not just torchbearers. They’re arsonists…

(Written by JK)

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