Sludge Underground Podcast
Your number one portal to South Africa’s most must-see emerging bands & creatives. We host super chilled interviews with local musicians in a bid to help you discover the best of them before anyone else. We also occasionally chat to established musos for music industry insights. Join us on this riveting journey highlighting the gritty and alternative musical corners of South Africa
Episodes
423 episodes
March Recap: IGNITE In South Africa, Upcoming Events, And More
March saw a bunch of releases and events across the country within the alternative and metal scene!This month on Ground Up Marcel and Brynn touch on some of the interesting happenings within the scene: Orange County's IGNITE playing on ...
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Season 1
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Episode 418
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22:04
The South African Band That Disappeared For 20 Years
After two decades of silence, Plum made their comeback in 2025, and they’re louder, wiser, and ready to reclaim their place in South Africa’s alternative scene.In this episode, Nasiphi sits down with Warren to unpack the band’s return, ...
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Season 1
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Episode 417
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32:17
Orange County's IGNITE Is Making Their Debut Appearance In South Africa
This week on Sludge Underground Marcel talks to Brett from @igniteband leading up to the bands debut appearance in South Africa. Join in as they chat about the band meeting Fuzigish's Ma...
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Season 1
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Episode 416
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32:42
February Recap: Calabash Cancelled, Emalyth Fest Shines, and More
February was jam packed full of highs and lows across the South African alternative and metal scene, we're breaking it all down!On this episode, Marcel & Nasiphi recap the month's biggest stories: The cancellation of Calabash, the s...
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Season 1
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Episode 415
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21:50
Inside The Mind Of One Of Africa's Best Metal Vocalists
Step into the mind of Sunken State frontman Dwayne Hees in this unfiltered episode of Sludge Underground. We look at his journey, having grown up in an Afrikaans household in Rustenburg, starting out as a vocalist before even touching v...
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Season 1
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Episode 414
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42:41
What Really Happens After Wacken?
What really happens after Wacken Open Air? In this episode, we dive deep into the challenges South African bands face after representing the country in Germany, and why breaking out internationally isn’t as straightforward as it seems.🎤...
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Season 1
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Episode 413
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38:22
P+A+G+E+S Brings A Message Of Hope And Resilience Through Doom
Marcel catches up with @PAGES_DOOM to chat about the recenet release of their album No More Can Be Done. Diving into themes of existential dread, geopolitical de...
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Season 1
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Episode 412
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28:57
Best South African Bands & Releases of 2025
Join the boys as they look back at the best South African band releases and events of 2025. From memorable gigs to standout music releases, they highlight their favourites and share a glimpse of what's coming in the remainder of 2026....
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Season 1
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Episode 411
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26:49
Skrikkeljaar Isn’t Here to Fit In And That’s the Point
Marcel sat down with Eli of Skrikkeljaar, an upcoming emo pop punk band with the added twist of being in afrikaans. Eli details his journey as a musician, the influences that shaped the bands sound, and the impact he hopes to have on those arou...
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Season 1
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Episode 410
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40:34
Is This The Rise Of Afrikaans Alternative?
Marcel sits down with Dierbaar, an alternative Afrikaans band from Stellenbosch, to dig into what drives their unique sound and message. We talk about why they chose to make alternative music in Afrikaans, the themes most artists shy away from,...
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Season 1
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Episode 409
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31:55
The Ramfest 2025 Experience
Ramfest 2025 was everything we’ve been waiting for. From Bongloard’s wild energy and Sunken State’s chaos (gorilla suit included), to Jack Parow proving he absolutely belongs on a heavy lineup, this festival was a full-on celebration of South A...
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Season 1
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Episode 408
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19:43
A Crash Course In Joining The South African Alt/Metal Scene
From small dive bars and underground venues to the people keeping the alternative flame alive, this video dives into the heart of South Africa’s alternative and metal scene.We explore the venues, promoters, content creators, and bands t...
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Season 1
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Episode 407
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18:38
What No One Tells You About Running Live Sound in South Africa
This week we're catching up with Savannah Vermaak, A live sound engineer based in Cape Town South Africa. She Goes over experiences working within the scene, the educational content she's creating on her platform, and a behind the scenes look a...
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Season 1
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Episode 406
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29:47
Punks Put On Music For Palestine
This week we're chatting to Kavesh Vello, The organizer of Music For Palestine, Joined by Berty of the band Necklace. We dive into the motivations behind the event, the bands playing, and the organizations involved.#punkrock #punk #...
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Season 1
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Episode 405
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34:23
The Capetonian Metalcore Band Taking ZA By Storm
n this episode of Sludge Underground Marcel has a chat with Ken of DoomTrigger, one of Cape Towns most promising Metalcore bands. They dive into the bands formation, the ...
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Season 1
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Episode 404
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34:14
South Africa's Most Explosive Metal Event
We're having a chat with Devilnest's Myke Taylor & Brynn Huxtable about their upcoming Durban metal event, Recoil. The event sees Gauteng heavyweights Walk These Skies and Die Gemeente coming down to Durban for what promises to be South Afr...
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Season 1
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Episode 403
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23:56
The Band That Carried The Flag To Germany
Cape Town thrashers Halvar recently returned from playing one of the biggest metal festivals in the world, Wacken Open Air. Dolf and Daniel share some of their experiences from Germany and the future plans for Halvar.
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Season 1
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Episode 402
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18:38
Why Durban Is Always Excluded From South Africa's Biggest Metal Events
Devilnest is a Durban-based entity that runs metal events. It comprises of Myke Taylor & Brynn Huxtable of South African Deathcore giants Your Cynical Sanity. In this video, they talk all things Devilnest and how they aim to get Durban meta...
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Season 1
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Episode 401
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18:03
Why This South African Band Vanished For 12 Years
On this episode we sit down with Sabretooth, South Africa's 80s-inspired band, to unpack their 12 year hiatus, and the moment that got them back together. We also touch on their first gig back in Cape Town, and whether or not they'll be releasi...
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Season 1
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Episode 400
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25:31
Is this South Africa's Longest Standing Metal Band?
"Have you ever heard of Mind Assault?" Is one of the most common questions you get when diving into the Cape Town metal scene. We had a sit down with guitarist Patrick and unpack over two decades of the bands history leading up to Nostalgia Ind...
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Season 1
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Episode 399
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36:14
This South African Band Just Went Viral
Cantrel are a father/son duo making music together. On this episode we touch on their upcoming EP, ties to Prime Circle, their upcoming South African tour, their music video hitting over 1million views, and a whole lot more.#bandintervi...
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Episode 398
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29:50
The Most Anticipated Metal Release In South African Metal?
Johannesburg boys Sunken State have a chat with Marcel about their highly anticipated EP Hunting Ghosts, Finding Demons dropping on the 18th of July. Join in as they dive into their process, the story behind the Ep, and the direction the band's...
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Season 1
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Episode 397
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25:08
The Woman Running African Metal From Behind A Screen
In this explosive interview, we dive into how Alana Britz became the digital force behind Emalyth, Metal4Africa, and Wacken Metal Battle Sub-Saharan Africa, helping shape the online identity of Africa’s loudest metal festivals.Lana open...
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Season 1
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Episode 396
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22:25
South Africa's Most Insane Metalcore Band
Pretoria boys No Closure recently made it onto the Ramfest lineup consisting of headlining act The Devil Wears Prada in South Africa. We chat about the metalcore/hardcore scene in Pretoria, the diversity in South African live shows, and get the...
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Season 1
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Episode 395
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27:58