Album Review: Troll Mother – A Tale for Two (Self Released)

Two-piece powersludge band, Troll Mother, have been turned heads all over the country with their unique blend of musical styles, story-telling prowess, and immersive live shows. Now, it’s time for them to unleash their debut album, ‘A Tale for Two’, on November 7th, 2026.

An audio treat for the ears, Troll Mother are so much more than just your average heavy sludge band. Not only are they quite formless when it comes to genres, but they tell stories. Fantastical stories that come with a certain amount of ‘tongue in cheek’ humour and plenty of flair.

I like ‘em and I really like this album, which sets some kind of scene with the opening track, Fucked by Trolls. A bit groovy, a bit sludgy, and a bit heavy, it’s a head banger of a start. Although the poem at the end is a bit depressing!

Mating Season picks the mood back up nicely though with its old-school metal crossed with hardcore punk sound. A Troll Mother anthem through and through, although the wacked out weirdness of Bad Trip Gone Worse isn’t too shabby either. You really can say that you never know what you’re going to get next with this band, and that makes listening to the record feel like such an adventure.

An adventure with so many incredible twists and turns, and one of the most impressive is Cursed. The sound of maddening experimentation, wild progressive thinking, and a ‘who cares’ attitude when it comes to structure. It’s awesome, creating a buoyancy that extends into the fun and short blast of energy that is Surfs Up, the riffy head banger that is Temptress of the Sea, and the dreamy, dark, melodic, and chaotic Slow Ascension Quick Decline. Three tracks in a row that couldn’t be more different except for the fact that they are inexplicably Troll Mother.

No one else could get away with this kind of behaviour.

One of the most extensive and dramatic sounding tracks is All is Fine. Troll Mother delivering the kind of stunning experience that you simply can’t help but sink into, and then in an instant, it snaps you awake and you can’t help but rise to your feet, arms aloft, smile spreading, and ready to take on the world.

From that, to something quite heavy and thrashy, it’s Ritual Succession and Troll Mother let loose nicely here. Before ending things with a little more story-telling courtesy of The End Has Finally Come in Such Good Time. It’s a debut album to remember, the kind of record that will bolster what everyone who has seen them play live already knows, that Troll Mother are no joke.

Troll Mother – A Tale for Two Track Listing:

1. Fucked by Trolls
2. Mating Season
3. Bad Trip Gone Worse
4. Cursed
5. Surfs Up
6. Temptress of the Sea
7. Slow Ascension Quick Decline
8. All Is Fine
9. Ritual Succession
10. The End Has Finally Come in Such Good Time

Links

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