HEAVY VALLEY CHATTANOOGA 2025 at The Boneyard – Chattanooga, TN

THOU is a metal band from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Though oftentimes misread as “post rock” or “hipster doom” or lumped in with the Southern sludge, Black Sabbath-worship of New Orleans, Metairie, and Houma bands like Eyehategod, Crowbar, or Acid Bath—they share a more spiritual kinship with 90s proto grunge bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, or Soundgarden and the aesthetic and political impulses of obscure 90s diy Ebullition Vermiform hardcore punk. Since its inception in 2004, the band has released five full length albums, seven EPs (some bordering on full lengths), two collaboration records with The Body, two collaboration records with Emma Ruth Rundle, and enough material spread out over splits to make up another four or five full lengths.

Those infamous sludge outlaws WEEDEATER finally return with their long-awaited fifth full-length ‘Goliathan’. Their new album marks the crossroads where true Southern rock and metal meet raw humour, old religion, as well as weed and whiskey. ‘Goliathan’ embodies the band’s trademark shuffle and swagger at their fullest. Syrupy slow riffs are buoyed by canyon-deep bass and some of the hardest-hitting drumming since Keith Moon. Full-on bruisers such as “Cain Enabler”, “Claw of the Sloth”, and the aptly-named “Bully” demonstrate that ‘Goliathan’ is delivering a vintage WEEDEATER and the soon-to-be gold standard of Southern sludge metal. At its founding, the band rose like a doobie phoenix out of the ashes of BUZZOV•EN. When the cult sludge act called it a day, bass player Dave “Dixie” Collins teamed up with guitarist Dave “Shep” Shepherd and founded WEEDEATER in the harbor town of Wilmington about the year 1998. Their crushing and massive first full-length ‘…and Justice for Y’all’ (2001) created an immediate buzz, while critics were struggling to put a tag on their sound. Nearly everybody agreed that stoner rock, doom, sludge and some crusty elements were part of the mix, which the band simply calls “weed metal”. The debut was produced by renowned engineer Billy Anderson (EYEHATEGOD, NEUROSIS) as well as sophomore album ‘Sixteen Tons’ (2002). WEEDEATER went out to perform live with CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and ALABAMA THUNDERPUSSY among others. After some detours of Dixie Dave, who played shortly with BONGZILLA and SOURVEIN, third album ‘God Luck and Good Speed’ hit the world in 2007 and shifted the band’s focus slightly towards the stoner side. The latest full-length ‘Jason… the Dragon’ got delayed when vocalist Dixie Dave lost a toe due to an incident with his favourite shotgun. When the sludge driven album finally came out in 2011, shows in the US and Europe cemented the band’s reputation as a fierce live entity. After signing to Season of Mist, WEEDEATER reissued their full back-catalogue on their new label. Yet the Bible Belt state of North Carolina, USA remains a fertile ground for hemp and stoner rock. ‘Goliathan’ makes the South smoke again. Lean back and let this monster record blow your mind!

WHORES formed in 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia, the trio has established themselves as one of the most successful and motivated bands in the genre today. Elements of Helmet, Melvins, and the Amphetamine Reptile roster can be heard throughout their catalog, but Whores are no regurgitated throwback act. Through intense, cathartic live performances and the perfected aggressive tenacity present on their recordings, the band has gained a fervent following sure to do nothing but grow in the years to come.

The band’s new record “WAR.” was recently listed in the “Twenty Best Metal Albums of 2024” by Rolling Stone magazine.

L O C A L S U P P O R T

TOADSMOKE
(CHATTANOOGA DEATH METAL)
https://toadsmoke.bandcamp.com/album/demo

GUMM
(CHATTANOOGA HARDCORE)
https://gumm.bandcamp.com/

MY WALL
(NASHVILLE DOOM)
https://mywall.bandcamp.com/album/over

TSURIS
(ATLANTA BLACK METAL)
https://tsuris.bandcamp.com/album/black-magick-ecstasy

DOPE SKUM
(CHATTANOOGA SLUDGE)
https://dopeskum.bandcamp.com/