Slower

**Slower** is a doom/sludge metal supergroup formed by **Fu Manchu** guitarist **Bob Balch**, initially conceived as a slowed-down reinterpretation of **Slayer** classics. The project began when Balch simplified "South of Heaven" for a student, sparking the idea to reimagine thrash anthems as brooding, down-tuned dirges. After connecting with **Monolord** drummer **Esben Willems** during the pandemic, the lineup expanded to include vocalists **Amy Barrysmith** (Year of the Cobra) and **Laura Pleasants** (Kylesa), alongside bassists **Peder Bergstrand** (Lowrider) and **Scott Reeder** (ex-Kyuss)**.** Their self-titled 2024 debut featured glacial, sludge-drenched takes on Slayer tracks like "War Ensemble" and "South of Heaven," balancing reverence with doom-metal heaviness. Their follow-up *Rage and Ruin* (2024) introduced original material while maintaining their signature slow-burn intensity, proving the project’s evolution beyond its cover-song origins.

With a lineup stacked with scene veterans, Slower transforms breakneck thrash riffs into lumbering anthems, swapping speed for suffocating low-end grooves. Their releases *Hellfire*, *Blood Red*, and others recontextualize Slayer’s aggression as something ominous and tectonic, appealing equally to doom devotees and thrash loyalists.