June 1, 2011 • Sick Man Getting Sick Records
You might think "Alaskan" is an odd name for an Ontario band, but after hearing their debut EP and this, their second album, it seems fitting—this is some cold music. It's good stuff, too, though not (as usual) the best of its kind for me.
Adversity; Woe is mostly made up of very dirty and doomy sludge metal; technically one would probably call it atmospheric but it isn't such in the same way that Isis and Rosetta are; rather than dense layers of reverbed-out guitar we get a more harsh, dissonant production. Slow, plodding riffs dominate the album, accompanied by anguished vocals. Even the interlude and buildup sections rank pretty high on the bleakness scale with their feedback drones and lonely, echoing guitar lines. Fall of Efrafa fans will find satisfaction here for sure, as the sound is incredibly similar (improved-on, in fact); personally, I see that as a good thing.
Still, Adversity; Woe doesn't come off as the most memorable of albums; while the songs are good, they don't stray too far from the sludge-post-hardcore formula that's been popular lately. It's not a bad thing if you're into it (I suppose I am), but at the same time I don't find myself thrilled by the songwriting. Alaskan's strength is mostly in their aesthetic approach and textural presentation, which is quite good on its own.
So, essentially, this is absolutely worth a listen for sludge fans, but I'd be a little hard-pressed to recommend it to anyone else. Then again, the band is gracious enough to release the digital version for free, so it's not like there's anything holding you back.
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