For today’s Manic Monday, we’re spotlighting perhaps the best sludge band to come out of the UK in the 90s, the underrated and somewhat obscure Fudge Tunnel. For those not privy, Fudge Tunnel was led by frontman and lead guitarist Alex Newport, who went on to enjoy a very successful career as a music producer (he was actually Grammy nominated for his work on Death Cab for Cutie’s “Narrow Stairs” for example). This is kind of remarkable, really, considering just how heavy and abrasive Fudge Tunnel was compared to the much more polished/accessible nature of the subsequent bands Newport went on to produce.
But whatever the case, his former band was clearly not interested in accessibility, perfect for fans of heavy music that wasn’t quite “metal” per se but was definitely too aggressive for your typical alternative rock fan. In many respects, they were the quintessential underground alternative-metal band, the type of group that helped lay the foundation for a slew of like-minded groove-heavy outfits that emerged later in the decade (and got a lot more notoriety to boot). Don’t sleep on Fudge Tunnel, a band that frankly deserves more recognition for their contributions to the heavy music scene. Checkout this killer performance of “S.R.T.” from Dynamo Open Air Festival in 1993 to help whet your Fudge Tunnel appetite:
