Album Review: Froglord – Lower & Slower (Self Released)

Bristol swamp doom collective Froglord will release their sixth full-length album, ‘Lower & Slower’, on March 4th, 2026. Recorded live in a single studio take, Lower & Slower reimagines six fan favourites from across the band’s catalogue in crushing, funeral-paced form. Revisiting tracks such as They Came from Saturn and Green Inferno, culminating in a rendition of Black Sabbath’s Iron Man.

If you’re thinking… why? You should really be thinking… why not! Though, it should be pointed out that this release carries a strong charitable focus. Where 100% of digital proceeds and 50% of physical and merch profits will be donated to the Waterfowl & Wetland Trust (WWT), supporting their mission to restore 100,000 hectares of wetlands by 2050.

Charity aside, I really dig the idea behind this release. It might seem like it’s the sort of release that is only for Froglord fans but actually, it has the potential to win them some new ones. Think about it. Have you ever thought, I want to like the psych-doom and sludgy groove of Froglord, but I’d really like it if it was tuned deeper and delivered at a slower pace. If so, you’re in luck, because that is what we have here. Six Froglord classics (plus a Black Sabbath cover) delivered in dirgy mind-f**king fashion. Where summing it up as a ‘heavy’ release simply doesn’t do the tectonic weight justice.

Seven tracks long, beginning with a Froglord ‘classic’, They Came from Saturn, and immediately the unique thinking behind this album becomes clear. It’s filth. Soul sucking, choking, and crushing filth. The sound of all-consuming sludge, doom, and psychedelia delivered in lethargic fashion with even the vocals having a tone that has a Christopher Lee style commanding delivery in places. I swear I was being cursed in Green Inferno.

We’re all cursed though and we’re all sinking, and the likes of that track, Road Raisin, Die by the Slime, Ecocide, and Swamp Boogie are the soundtrack to our suffocating end. There is some serious eye-watering heaviness and arsehole tightening fuzz to be found here.

Capping things off? It’s a staggering cover of Black Sabbath’s iconic track, Iron Man. It’s very cool.

Froglord – Lower & Slower Track Listing:

1. They Came from Saturn (Lower & Slower)
2. Road Raisin (Lower & Slower)
3. Green Inferno (Lower & Slower)
4. Die by the Slime (Lower & Slower)
5. Ecocide (Lower & Slower)
6. Swamp Boogie (Lower & Slower)
7. Iron Man (Lower & Slower)

Links

Website | Bandcamp