The Birth
It is summer 2008. Five friends from Athens hanging out on a balcony decided to unite their musical concerns and create a band playing the music they listen to. Extreme and contemporary fuzz with torturous riffs that will stick in your head, conveying their stench and reaction to today’s society.
Their first live at the historic “Praize The Fuzz” in 2009, and from then on a series of extreme live shows that each one is a mystical ceremony and catharsis at the same time for themselves and for the audience.
Rollin’ Fast Play Slow
In 2011, the 3rd collection of Spinalonga Records “Miss Fortune Was A Henhouse Manager” is released and their first track ‘Foondamentalist’ makes its appearance. It was recorded live at “Prova Studios” in the morning hours with the help of Nikos Chalkousis behind the consoles. The motto – Rollin Fast Play Slow – appears and is the basis for their music. They continue with several live shows and timidly begin the first support.
The Smoking Community
In 2014 they enter their personal studio in the meat market of Piraeus and there with the help of George Leodis they record their first self-titled album live. The Master was edited by Brad Boatright from America (Sleep, C.O.C. Yob, Obituary…) and the fantastic cover by Black Space, a group of people who would collaborate on the next albums. Sadhus “The Smoking Community” debut album is one heavy addictive hit of brutal and blazing riffs, via a caustic and heavy mix of a bluesy-driven sludge sound and extreme crust-style vocals, which should find a loyal audience within the doom/sludge/stoner metal community.
My first contact and enlightment with Sadhus was actually by accident, when a good friend of mine and a serious vinyl hunter, gifted me their first album “The smoking Community” bought from a stoner/heavy/psyche festival. He was hoping for such sounds and he was amazed by the beautiful artwork but the music and I quote “Is fucking dirty and too loud for me”. Upon listening to it I knew I had found a pretty serious sludge-doom band with pure heavy riffs raw power and energy, and instantly became one of my favorite bands. Few years later I had the opportunity to watch them performing live at the Desertfest Athens on 2016 where I literally went nuts and overwhelmed by their performance.
Big Fish
In the 4 years that followed, several lives and festivals came 2 split Ep’s (one with Agnes Vein) and everything shows that their music is here to stay.
Their second full-length, “Big Fish” produced by Fuzz Ink. Recorded live in the studio, in Corinth, Greece, with the exact same team collaborating and the result are more extreme and rawer. The album shocked the waves around the Heavy/Doom/Sludge community and was warmly received by fans and critics.
Illegal Sludge
With their heads bowed, they continue their lives and with the arrival of corona, the band changes homes and now from the chalet of Kallithea, hidden in the slush, they find themselves capturing the stench of confinement with their third album ‘Illegal Sludge’ in 23, with the help of “Ouga Booga And The Mighty Oug” in cutting and promoting the album, Elias Vlachakis behind the console and mixing, Brad in mastering and the talented Fotini Kaklidi on the cover.
Illegal Sludge is like a dangerous, highly intoxicating whiskey made at an illegal distillery. The doomy Sabbathian riffs, merged with powerful rhythms and caveman vocals, will not only inebriate listeners but also please the palate of those who crave all things doom and sludge. Sadhus do a stellar job of not only emulating Iommi’s defining riff style but also injecting their own raw, caustic sludge sound into each song. The album received a huge response from the media and the public to support it, which was evident from the live release of the album at the suffocating packed An Club and then on their first tour in Europe in the Fall of 24.
Intelligent Psycho Sludge
If it seems difficult for a sludge band to manage to have a little recognition, then Sadhus is a solid example that with patience and work they have managed to shake up unsuspecting listeners at their live shows for 17 years and the only thing for sure is that they will continue to do so.
In a similar vein to Bongzilla and Dopethrone, among others in the weed-inspired side of the genre, Sadhus’s music is aggressive and often pulverizing heavy. The pace can vary from glacial to frantic, sometimes within a single track.
My Advice: don’t miss them at their next live show if you haven’t managed to see them yet.
Sadhus, The Smoking Community are:
Stavros – Vocals
Thomas G. – Guitars
Mak – Bass
Greg – Drums
Steve – Rolling Engineer
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