16 - Forgeries Vol 1, 1972 – 1984 LP (colour vinyl)

Limited edition of 300 copies on neon green colour vinyl. Black wax also available.

"A covers album can be one of two things: an easy cash-in record to fill time between studio releases or, if handled well and given the appropriate level of respect, a time-honoured tradition of paying tribute to your forebears in this world of heavy metal.

Californian sludge legends –(16)– have always seemed like a band much more in line with the latter, so I think that Forgeries Vol. 1, 1972 – 1984 is probably going to be full of hidden gems and, especially given the vintage of these tracks being forty plus years old, I’d expect the very embryonic nature of the band’s journey to be brought to life.

As you progress through the album, you can see each element of the bands covered here coming into focus as a sliver of THEIR inspiration and sound. Many of these tracks make total sense in the formation of the –(16)–‘s DNA; Black Sabbath, Black Flag, Agent Orange and Rudimentary Peni all check those sludgy hardcore punk boxes that are clear influences.

Some others are a little more diverse than you’d expect at first, but so much of sludge has obvious hard rock and groovy heavy blues influence that seeing Kiss, Blue Öyster Cult, UFO and Scorpions on here doesn’t surprise me either. –(16)–‘s bulldozing version of Can’t Get Enough goes much harder than the Scorpions‘ original, as is the lurching groove of Kiss‘ Rocket Ride to close. It seems that Cities On Flame With Rock And Roll is the perfect sludge cover song, given its natural swagger and classic bluesy riffs." - The Sleeping Shaman