Clutch – Pure Rock Fury This was my first taste of Clutch and really influenced my guitar playing. It was exactly what I was looking for when I bought it on a whim and it really changed my musical outlook, I don\’t think it left the CD player for a good few weeks once I got it home. This album, in my opinion, is hands down one of the most swaggering, balls out, heavy rock albums of all time and we\’d sound very different without it. James

Cursed – III A big influence on my vocals, bringing more of a hardcore element to the table than previous metal influences I\’d built my style on until that point. They add a really vicious, bitterness to the sound and it really gives the music some weight. In my opinion they\’re masters of blending metal and hardcore without it sounding contrived. Adam

Kyuss – Circus Leaves Town This was the album that got us both into modern Stoner rock, as it was at the time, and it was both familiar and like nothing we\’d ever heard before. Definitely a big influence on our riffs, this album has some of my favourite Kyuss songs on it too, and I\’ve got some great memories associated with it from back when I was at college. James

Black Sabbath – Master of Reality  Everything about this album is amazing, it\’s the sound of a band that was working really well together and it just oozes grooves and riffs, Tony Iommi was on fire. You just can\’t fuck with a riff like the one on Children of the Grave. If you don\’t like it, you\’re wrong! James and Adam

Iron Monkey -Our Problem One of the most crushing slabs of noise to come out of Nottingham, and an album that set the benchmark for British sludge for the next 2 decades. There\’s very few bands in that scene that don\’t at least least have a faint whiff of Iron Monkey in their sound and we\’re no different. Their delivery and ferocity were something we aimed for when we started out. Adam

Baroness – First + Second EP’s We saw Baroness back in 2005 and were hooked from the first riff. Their use of lead tones and harmonised guitars was something that inspired us to experiment with different pedals and sounds when we started writing. There\’s definitely a southern rock feel to their music but there\’s clearly something thoughtful and atmospheric going on there too, their intricate little licks and varied tones were things that really excited us when we picked up on these guys. These 2 EPs work together brilliantly as one piece, so it\’d be unfair to choose between them.  James

Church of Misery – Houses of the Unholy This is one of the nastiest albums ever to cross our paths. The grooves in the riffs mixed with the sludgy sound, bluesy breakdowns and brutal vocals make it an assault on the senses. The fact it was a concept album caught our attention too, and got Adam thinking \”well, if they can do one about serial killers, maybe I can do a concept album about something as well\”. This album is a perfect example of how to be heavy without losing the groove. Adam and James

Neurosis – A Sun That Never Sets My favourite doom album of all time. The haunting, deep resonance in their vocals is somethjing I\’ve slawys strived for in my sound. They\’re masters of writing songs and this album is a perfect example of that. Adam

Mastodon – Remission These boys have definitely had a hand in shaping our sound and this album is where it started, some big, tasty, righteous riffs in there that caught our attention from the beginning. Their habit of hopping from riff to riff to make an unusual song structure is something we have certainly taken for our own.  Adam

Witchcraft – Witchcraft This was a big chunk of inspiration and our introduction to a lot of the bands on Rise Above with that vintage/retro heavy rock sound. We heard this and wanted to incorporate some of the sounds and melodies from that style and take that feel from 70s hard rock and make it our own. Their singing style and use of vocal effects like delays etc was something that really inspired me as well. Adam 

 

Widows will release their new album Oh Deer God through UMC in April.