Ten Ton Slug rock the stage at Bloodstock 2019 metal festival in the UK. (source: Olga Kuzmenko)
This summer, at least part of a long-postponed dream will come true. On June 7, Irish sludge metal titans Ten Ton Slug will perform at Koncerty na Garážach, a DIY venue hidden in parking garages on the banks of the Danube.
For bassist Pavol Rosa, a native of eastern Slovakia, the show will be a belated homecoming. A few years ago, the band were scheduled to play a heavy metal festival near Nitra, in western Slovakia, but the coronavirus pandemic crushed those plans.
“We’re looking forward to having him play with the band in his home country,” frontman Rónán O’hArrachtáin told The Slovak Spectator. “It’ll be great to experience Slovak hospitality and see what Bratislava’s metalheads have got.”
Joining them in Bratislava will be Dutch heavy rockers Diggeth and local act Talebringer.
Ten Ton Slug formed in 2014 in Connemara, on Ireland’s rugged west coast. The band’s name is a twisted homage to their home village’s Irish nickname, Na Seilide – “the slugs” or “snails” in English. “What we like to say is they got eaten by a giant slug and they play music to please him,” O’hArrachtáin joked.
Founded by brothers Sean and Michael Sullivan, the band took shape when members from Galway doom outfit Weed Priest joined, including Lithuanian musicians Adamas and Ragas. O’hArrachtáin became the vocalist in 2015, and the band began forging its signature sound.
Sludge metal – a subgenre of extreme heavy metal – combines the slow, crushing tempos of doom with the raw energy of hardcore punk and the chugging force of groove metal. Ten Ton Slug embrace this fusion with down-tuned guitars, shouted vocals and mythic themes: ancient beasts, rebellion, self-liberation – and, yes, slime.
Their debut album, “Colossal Oppressor” (2024), captures this apocalyptic spirit with tracks about a merciless slug devouring all in its path. “We even have a song in the Irish language about cursing your oppressor,” O’hArrachtáin said. “It’s great to sing heavy metal in our native tongue.”
The band will be touring with Diggeth, a heavy metal trio from the Netherlands known for blending hard rock with southern blues. The two groups first met at Maryland Doom Fest in the United States and hit it off. “We kept in touch and started planning gigs together,” O’hArrachtáin said. “We thought the mix of our heavier stuff with their rock and blues would make a great combination.”
Their tour – cheekily titled Slimin’ and Diggin’ Across Europe – will span eight countries and 10 concerts.
“We’re excited to see the continent, we will dig up and cover Bratislava in slime when we arrive too!” concluded O’hArrachtáin.
Dates on the Slimin' and Diggin' tour. (source: Ten Ton Slug)
