Sons of Tonatiuh

More crusty-punk than crusty-sludge, Atlanta's Sons of Tonatiuh (pronounced “Tahn-a-tee-ah”) still has enough of a Leechmilk pedigree (guitarist/vocalist Dan Caycedo played in both) to appeal to those that drink freely from those foul, murky waters. Regardless of tempo, these Sons play it straightforward and vicious. For fans of Sourvein, Iron Monkey, Eyehategod, and Weedeater. - Arzgarth

Lovingly pinched from Stonerrock.com: Atlanta Georgia’s Sons Of Tonatiuh have dropped their first full length album onto an unsuspecting world, and with members of Leechmilk in tow, you’d better believe that it’s sludgy. Without being overly proggy or wanky about it, Sons of Tonatiuh have managed to put their own stamp on the sludge formula, thanks to a vast sonic arsenal and a willingness to explore different arrangements and tempos. These songs are HEAVY, and they’re memorable, but they aren’t predictable in any sense. Each track is its own journey, and that makes for one hell of a trip when you sit down to a listening sessions with this LP.

The production is thick but stripped down. No bells and whistles, just syrupy guitars, pounding drums and deep bass, with the acid gargling vocals soaring over it all in typical sludge fashion. It works well, and puts the emphasis on the songs, and the riffs contained within them, which are nothing short of colossal. - Roadburn

Rarely will you hear a band completely nail a certain sound the way that the Sons of Tonatiuh do here. This strangely named bunch from Georgia have come up with a sludge metal release that belongs with the definitive works of the genre. Everything that angry, thick, punishing sludge metal should be, the Sons of Tonatiuh are. It's eight tracks of merciless RIFFING bereft of all fat and dedicated to making you feel like a herd of rabid warthogs just trampled you into a mudhole.

The sound is PERFECT for this kind of music. You really have to hear this to understand what this means. Eyehategod, Zoroaster, Iron Monkey, Crowbar, even a bit of Obituary have all been melted in a swamp witch's cauldron and poured out steaming into tracks like "Adam and Evil", "To The Throne" and "Chain Up The Masses". I think if you wanted to hear one song that summed up not only what Sons of Tonatiuh are but what pure sludge metal itself is, "Consumed" would be the perfect choice. Chugging evil Sabbath riffs tinged with a little Southern darkness, then speeding up into an almost death metal rage before settling back down into the gloom. And stick the wailing rasps of Dan Caycedo on top of it all. Caycedo really sounds like a guy that's been pissed on his whole life. The result is just...the ultimate.

"Consumed" is my favorite cut, but each of the 8 tunes here follows suit pretty closely. No weak spots in this sucker to be exploited. If you like to headbang yourself silly while wallowing in human misery, let Sons of Tonatiuh be your guide. A new name to reckon with. - Abner Mality

In my busy and cluttered daily existence it can be hard to really get into something until the mood hits and sometimes that might be too late as almost was the case with this sludge bomb. Aside from my return to my usual obsessing over doomy death metal (Autopsy, Abscess, Coffins, Winter) and spinning Eyehategod alongside to the point where I just feel like I’m covered in some sort of slimy excrement, this album is hitting the right spot this time around.

There’s a good amount of Southern deep fried braincell by way of bluesy tar and feather riffs and grooves to make any serious Eyehategod fan comfortable but not being a mere reproduction of their sound or style. For a band that’s said to have been conceived in a ditch alongside a dirt road outside of Atlanta, and based on the concepts of the origins of the human race, and an understanding of the human world and its history the heavy subject is carried perfectly well by the oily layer of massive nuclear fuzz bombs and shrieks of gargantuan guitar and throat scraping vocals. After listening to this asshole all day today I can feel confident that I will be investing more time and some cash in picking this one up for my sludge fix. Bands like this that show their roots, well actually carve their names into their flesh and bleed them as they put a fresh spin on them like the freshness of the warm crimson streams bearing their true color and spirit.

Aside from CD, this album is also available on blue or gold vinyl LP. The LP’s are only $12 and the cd is included, that’s a fucking hell of a deal and this one will be sure to blow some subwoofers or at least strain them. They are also on tour and will be sharing a stage with Eyehategod so check them out and hear for yourself how huge this stuff really is, it’s like a damn anvil being dropped on your head type of heavy!!!! - Janet Willis

From Atlanta, Georgia comes this as-yet unsigned aggro-doom metal beast, and this is their fearsome full-length debut. It's a solid work, starting with the thick and sludgy "To The Throne", erupting forth with downtuned guitars, scalding vocals, and a pace that crawls in spots, but alternately amps it up with complex changes and breakneck tempos. SOT go even more evil with "Consumed", which hovers menacingly at first, only to spill out its guts punk-style with a speedy thrash assault. Not strictly a metal band, Sons Of Tonatiuh also channel noise/punk more than effectively, and graft it to a doomy, post-Sabbath sludge-riff bludgeon. Witness the sinister "Adam And Evil", or the scalding grooves of "Chain Up The Masses". SOT's forceful and furious attack leaves no survivors, and daringly combines several styles into a unique and vicious identity all their own. Dig it. - Goatsden