71TonMan - War Is Peace/ Peace Is Slavery

71TonMan are a Polish sludge death metal hybrid group that know how to craft epics of grim, old school proportion. They’ve been around since 2011 but after 2 full length albums “War Is Peace…” is their first EP. While sadly only 3 tracks which doesn’t really give too much to judge at least the tracks stretch past the 5 minute mark so there is a lot to digest. The distortion of the guitars is certainly the focus here along with dragging pace. Opening with ‘War Is Peace’ one definitely can hear the Sabbthy riffs that are grim yet repetitive and with the low, growling vocals there is plenty of old school reference to the likes of Gatecreeper, Suffocation, and even Obituary. While not as groove laden or fast as some of the other comparisons, this slow burner still demands attention as it eats away with oozing bass and the right level of plodding, but clear drumming as the vocals snarl and howl about, using an extra layer to get the right level of grim with sounds of the writhing pits of hell.

For those who don’t really dig the slow burn sound, ‘Peace Is Slavery’ does pick things up a bit. Definitely a pit starter for sure while still remaining grim and sludgy, we get to hear more of the ‘death metal’ side of 71TonMan. Still sounds a bit Obituary style but that raw vocal tone keeps 71TonMan sounding like their own style. There are some comparable slow moments like the first track, but overall this is certainly more of a banger. Then there is the closing ‘Ignorance Is Strength’ which is pretty much devoid of any death or sludge metal presence at all. A long, epic atmospheric instrumental almost with some mechanical industrial tones and spoken samples, it is a very different approach compared to what has been heard so far, much like Leviathan’s “Silhouette In Splinters” album which was almost all atmosphere and very little black metal whatsoever. This one is a nice breather and takes some real attention to stick through, so fans will either skip it all together or take a meditative moment to enjoy the break. Again, this EP in full isn’t quite a full scope of what 71TonMan can do, but it is a nice sample of the directions they can go in.

3 / 5 STARS


1. War Is Peace
2. Peace Is Slavery
3. Ignorance Is Strength