A decade since their second album, Black Mountain Rising, one could be forgiven for wondering if the South Wales Sludge-heavy monster that is Lifer was likely to raise its head again. Thankfully, for all who want their music with more riffs than one can handle, the band have returned with a rather ferocious reminder that quality is more important than quantity.
Lifer – Lifer
Release Date: Out Now
Words: Paul Hutchings
There have been a few line-up changes since the band’s debut, Cursing Them Out, but few can argue that the current quintet is holding the torch with more than a little power. Lifer is a fat, thickly cut release that sees the band’s NOLA-inspired sound immersed with their own attitude and style.
This is not a sludge or a stoner album. It is far too important to wear a simple label, for contained within Lifer is a multitude of influences that weave their way through the rampaging collection.
Recorded in seven days at Sonic One Studio in Wales in July 2024, Lifer is a heady mix of shortish tracks that are liberally mixed with a couple of longer songs, the most impressive being the meandering seven minutes of Stone Widow. But it’s the high-impact opener of Keep A Good Heart, Son, and Imperious Delirious that immediately grabs the attention, with the latter hitting a semi-Thrash tempo before slowing into a glorious intoxication that would sit comfortably alongside the likes of Corrosion Of Conformity, Crowbar and Down.
There are no rules to follow on a Lifer album, and that is true once more throughout their third release. What is important is that the songs are good, that they are heavy and that the groove gets you nodding along.
Grab the smouldering Men And Pigs to capture the band in their essential peak, combining the best of Sabbath’s low-end heaviness, the Rock n Roll of Motörhead, the Punk-tinge of Discharge and a bit of Monster Magnet. What’s not to like?
The current line-up provides singer Rich ‘Scriv’ Scrivens with the platform for a career-best performance. His colossal, bear-like roars dominate without overpowering the songs. There’s no doubting the performance of all on the Motörhead-fuelled power of Born To Lose or the crushing Thrash-edged rager Rise Above. The riffs are colossal, crashing like the hammer of the gods on the shore, whilst drummer David Church and bassist Stu ‘Spoon’ Rake keep the engine at full pelt.
Stone Widow provides a thoughtful, bluesy conclusion. A gorgeous sprawling seven minutes that showcases everything that is so good about Lifer. If I was asked to nominate a song that summed up this excellent band, this would be it. Only the fade kills the power, and that is one very minor quibble.
Throw in four clean versions of Men And Pigs, Imperious Delirious, Rise Above and Different Kind Of Pain, all of which could melt flesh off bone, and you have got an album that gets better on every play.
The world is always a better place when Lifer is in it. 2025 has just got better.
You can find out more from Lifer at Bandcamp.
