Review: Mudlarker

Mudlarker return from the depths of Hereford’s doom-laden landscape with their new album Radio Silence — a sci-fi-themed, stoner-psych-doom juggernaut that bends genres, smashes expectations and drags you into its world with irresistible groove and grit. This is heavy music with imagination, purpose and real songwriting craft behind the clouds of fuzz.

Opening with the title track Radio Silence, the album creeps in on a grinding, groove-soaked riff ominous enough to make Alice In Chains smile in approval. The drums land like a fist and the vocal storms in with grit and power. It’s immediate, chest-shaking and utterly hypnotic — a groove so deep you find yourself nodding without realising. The guitar shifts shape throughout, adding layers and making this a genuinely fresh take on doom. The brooding instrumental section builds the atmosphere before the band detonates together in a blast of controlled force. A huge statement of intent.

Leviathan emerges from a howling wind before being ripped open by a monstrous slab of riff — heavy, harmonic and full of menace. The vocal enters like an invocation, adding emotional depth while weaving around the guitar in a dance of tension and release. The breakdown almost dissolves into chaos but Mudlarker rein it in with absolute mastery, rebuilding the track with new energy. It’s heavy in every sense, but always inventive — a blueprint entirely their own.

Godhand slides in with a haunting, soaring guitar line that shows a different side to the band. What begins as a jam-like exploration soon evolves into an emotional, doom-drenched journey guided by a pained, expressive vocal. The use of space here is stunning, letting every note breathe. Then, without warning, the whole thing erupts — a sludgy, Pantera-meets-Down-style assault that brings the track to a punishing and triumphant crescendo.

The Persistence chugs forward with another killer riff, commanding and relentless. This track is a masterclass in how Mudlarker flirt with collapse — letting the track wobble on the edge of the abyss before grinding it back into glorious focus. The vocals howl, scream and tear through the mix, elevating the intensity beautifully.

Deadnaught (Impending Ruin) appears like fog over a moor — a creeping, atmospheric interlude powered by a chanting refrain that deepens the album’s cinematic, otherworldly feel. It’s perfectly placed and ushers in the next wave.

Cruisership growls awake with a guttural bassline before a soaring guitar line lifts the track skyward. The contrast is perfect — grime and beauty, dirt and clarity. The darker edges almost creep into black metal territory, but the Mudlarker groove keeps it anchored. Then comes the curveball: the brutal sing-along refrain of “Cruisership” lands like a hammer. It’s visceral, wild and brilliant.

Reaver bursts in with swagger, its riff thick and attitude-heavy, the drums pounding it forward. The vocal becomes more poetic here, storytelling with weight and confidence. Hints of early 80s metal sneak through without ever diluting the band’s identity. When the track unexpectedly doubles in pace and the guitar dives forward, it’s an electrifying moment — before everything grinds down into a final roar of noise. A clear highlight.

River brings a totally different flavour with its blues-esque intro and a vocal performance that channels a harmonious, Cornell-like warmth. The grunge influence blends beautifully with Mudlarker’s heaviness, creating one of the album’s most accessible and emotionally resonant songs. It’s a perfect gateway track for new listeners.

The album closes with Empyrean, drifting in with a grand, majestic vibe before the band crash in one final time. The vocal is dark, operatic, full of remorse. The track twists, turns and builds until it erupts into a controlled cacophony of noise that would’ve made Nirvana proud — raw, expressive and drenched in feeling.

Radio Silence is a rare beast: an album that blends stoner, doom, grunge, psych, metal, sludge, blues and even touches of blackened energy into something cohesive, powerful and completely its own. Mudlarker don’t just break genre boundaries — they kick them down and build new ones in their place.

If this is “Radio Silence,” then Mudlarker are making a whole lot of beautiful noise.