The Romans built a wall along Scotland’s border in an attempt to keep the barbaric and savage tribesmen of the North out of England. Slioch, today’s Band of the Day, are an example as to why the Romans felt the need for such a wall to be built, as the Inverness-based quintet are responsible for some of the most devastatingly heavy metal north of the border. For the past month, the young band have been releasing a new single roughly every week on Youtube and Bandcamp, the most recent being “Laoch Mor Calgacus”, all of which will eventually be collected together in their as-yet untitled EP.
With lyrics centred around Scottish myths and history, you can expect songs jam-packed with slaughter and violence (we Scots are not a calm people), something which was marked as a staple for the band when their first release, Darkness Devoured, revolved around infamous highland cannibal Sawney Bean. The newest of Slioch’s singles, “Laoch Mor Calgacus”, roughly translating to “Great Warrior Calgacus”, is no different. The song tells the tale of the Battle of Mons Graupius  in AD84 where Calgacus, Chieftain of the Caledonian Confederacy, led his men against the Romans.
Quite fittingly to the lyrical content, the song immediately thrusts you into an onslaught of throaty screams, crushingly heavy guitars, and eardrum-bursting percussion, creating an all-encompassing sound, as if you are truly part of a great battle from days past. Slioch transport you to another place in a different time with their rapturous and savage style of play. Having only formed less than a year ago, Slioch are truly a band to keep an eye on as there’s every likelihood that they could be Scotland’s answer to Devildriver.
Laoch Mor Calgacus is out now and available through Slioch’s Bandcamp page.
Slioch: facebook | twitter | bandcamp | youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M72UXcPkCu4
