As We Draw – Mirages

October 4, 2014 • Throatruiner Records

Compared to Lines Breaking Circles, not a whole lot has changed except that the band has somehow gotten a lot better. Thought nothing much has changed since their debut, something about it really grabbed me and I think it may be one of 2014's finest so far.

Mirages basically comes in two flavors: long atmospheric sludgy tracks, and shorter Converge-esque chaotic hardcore / mathcore ones—and there's definitely something to be said for both. The longer tracks (basically just "The Window" and "Shipwreck") have this great post-rock-influenced buildup structure that works really great with the heavier guitar sound without being too clichéd. The shorter tracks are almost perfect: full of blistering energy, stabbing guitar lines and crashing drumming, and never overstaying their welcome. They're angry as hell, but they don't get too wrapped up in it that they lose sight of the song structure.

I don't know for sure why this one is hooking me a lot more than their first—maybe it's my mood, maybe somehow my taste for this stuff has grown—but I can't discount the fact that this music just grooves hard and in a way that I am really enjoying. It's not an album that I'll be able to listen to often—it's a little too punishing at times and the whole thing can be a bit draining. But when I do get the urge, it satisfies handily.

Reproacher – Nothing to Save

June 11, 2013 • self-released

Gotta have more of that delicious modern sludgecore? Reproacher delivers. These guys are among the filthiest and heaviest bands of their genre—detuned guitars, pounding rhythms, grimy production, and man are they angry as all hell. They lean a bit into the hardcore punk side at times, so when the band isn't bringing some crushing doom they're pretty fast and jumpy, but it's always suitably heavy and they never feel out-of-control. Although Reproacher aren't really bringing anything particularly new to the table just yet, they're certainly good at what they do. A band to keep an eye on.

Serpent Eater – Hyena

December 2013 • Alerta Antifascista

I think the sludgecore movement is slowly becoming one of my favorite things to happen to metal—a basis in dirty, heavy sludge metal, with extra speed and hardcore punk influence. Serpent Eater adds a healthy dose of grind, stoner, and black metal influence thrown in; not unusual, so it seems, but these guys layer in just about every extreme metal style they can think of on Hyena. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it sure does make for a unique and interesting experience.

For sure it's some of the most intense, heavy, and pounding music in its genre that I've heard—if the band isn't chugging along at a driving pace, it's spazzing out with skittering, chaotic drums and buzzsaw riffs. And boy, are there riffs—probably more riffs than they know what to do with; the songs are chock-full of interesting things for the band to do and they switch up rhythms and feel quite a bit, so things stay pretty fresh and there's a lot to hear just over the course of a single song.

And, of course, with so much going on that does leave the songs a bit difficult to follow sometimes, leaving the individual songs a bit less memorable than those of similar bands (unless that just means I haven't listened to this album enough yet, which is possible). But bits and pieces that manage to stick out make up for that, like one of "Last Cold World"'s ending riffs which has a great rhythmic pattern you just want to fist-pump along to.

I don't think these guys are going to make any top-sludgecore-albums lists I make in the near future, but Hyena is definitely worth listening to once you're worn out your Struck by Lightning records. Hopefully they keep it up, and maybe with a little bit more focus and honed songwriting we'll see something truly great from them in the future.

Yautja – Songs of Descent

February 11, 2014 • self-released

Another random Bandcamp find; unfortunately I don't have a lot of background knowledge of Yautja, but I will say that going by this album, these guys are absolutely stellar.

Songs of Descent falls nicely into a bucket I like to call "sludgecore" (see Struck by Lightning and some KEN Mode), a combinations of dirty, heavy, chugging sludge with some of the faster technical elements of metalcore and modern hardcore—even a bit of grindcore, too, at least here. I haven't found many spectacular examples of this genre in action, but Yautja has definitely caught my ear. These are the kinds of riffs that really dig in under your skin—vile and nasty stuff but catchy and satisfying at the same time, and Yautja brings them non-stop and in full force.

The songs blast by quickly and there's a lot to process in a short time—fourteen tracks in less than forty minutes is lightning speed, especially with some of them being just a minute long. And they do a lot with the short time they have, going from Mastodon to Rotten Sound in seconds. It's a really interesting experience, one that demands attention from the listener as they never let what they're doing get repetitive or stale.

The one nitpicky thing I can think of is that the vocals are always pushed way far back in the mix (unless it's just my headphones?) that they often might as well not even be there. I think a better vocal presence could really push this band even farther. The rest of the band sounds great, though, and the mixing is otherwise very well-done.

Again, definitely worth giving a full listen. I definitely hope to hear more from Yautja soon.

KEN Mode – Entrench

March 15, 2013 • Season of Mist

I guess I'm kind of obligated to review this album now, having enjoyed Venerable and seeing this band play twice in the last year. I don't mind, though; KEN mode hasn't let up on quality and Entrench is a pretty darn awesome album.

They're back with the same sort of frantic-metalcore-meets-sludge sound ("sludgecore" isn't a thing yet, no matter how hard I try), though the noise rock aspects have been toned down for a more post-hardcore-oriented approach. Like before, the band is heavy and gritty as hell but the occasional softer moment; the pounding rarely lets up throughout the album but it does switch a bit from fast-paced punk-tinged sludgecore to some slower doomier stuff and an almost alt/post-rock like buildup on "Romeo Must Never Know". There are still a lot of surprisingly catchy moments as well without suffering from breakdown overload ("The Promises of God" is especially great in this regard), while at the same time the technicality of the performance has been dialed back a bit in favor of just rocking out. And that's great.

I could probably go as far as to say that I'm liking this more than Venerable right off the bat. I can't really think of anything they didn't do just right. Absolutely a great and worthy followup (yeah at some point I really should check out their first three albums...) and definitely recommended to anyone who's a fan of sludgecore in general.

KEN Mode, Rosetta, Lo-Pan, The Black Antler

August 18, 2013 • Kobo Live, Columbus, Ohio

I had already had an amazing weekend, and I couldn't think of a better way to top it off than a show with one of my favorite bands. I'd already seen Rosetta back in 2010 but I wouldn't pass up another chance to see them here in Columbus, especially at Kobo which I love going to. Unlike that Carabar show, it actually ended just after 11 PM instead of 3 AM so people were actually around to see the bands!

The Black Antler

The pleasant surprise of the night (there's always one)—these guys were really awesome. A sort of doomy sludge combined with grind-infused hardcore, definitely a case of sludgecore-done-right. Not a single dull moment throughout their set (although I could have done with better sound mixing). Definitely would see again.
8 • Best Hipster Mustache Award

Lo-Pan

I'm a bit surprised it took me this long to get to a show these guys played at. They've been around a while and it seems like they support every other metal show in the city. Anyway, they weren't really my thing, but it was still an enjoyable set. I've never really liked stoner metal, but Lo-Pan's style was especially interesting. Very groovy, catchy stuff. The bassist especially was giving his all, doing a lot of complicated stuff and really squeezing all the range out of his instrument he could.
7 • Farthest-Away Vocalist Award

Rosetta

It's tough to review any band you have a lot of emotional investment in already, but yeah, this was an amazing show. Not much has changed in the last three years, although everything they played was off of their new album. I was a little disappointed at first that they weren't playing some older stuff I would have recognized more easily, but it didn't matter much—their new material works excellently on stage, especially the heavier material. Anyway I'm just glad they came back here again; I could tell everyone had a hell of a time.
9 • Most Normal Clothes Award

KEN Mode

I don't know what KEN Mode's deal is but they must love Columbus or something; I saw them back in November and they've played here at least three other times since. Anyway, I already knew they put on a good show, and they didn't disappoint—although I think the first show might have been better. It's tough to follow up Rosetta, I'd think. As always it was a very energetic and dramatic performance; they don't care how big of an audience they play to, which is great.
7 • Best Spitting Distance Award

As We Draw – Lines Breaking Circles

November 1, 2010 • Throatruiner Records

I'm trying to clear my backlog of stuff I've had for a long time and never rated (e.g. the Vargr review not too long ago); today I tackle Lines Breaking Circles, an album that I've played to death because it didn't click, but which turns out to be pretty darn good when listened to critically.

As We Draw plays some sort of post-hardcore / sludge metal hybrid, a very diverse sort which is upbeat, complex, and quite heavy all at the same time. The band utilizes a lot of start-stop rhythms and time signature changes in addition to locking down some nice, consistent grooves. You won't find a lot of hooks or choruses here, though; it's mostly dissonant mathy riffs and crunchy melodic breakdowns instead, punctuated by the occasional melancholy clean bridge. It somehow turns out to be relatively catchy and sort-of-fun stuff with some great buildups and climaxes, if you can dig the gloomy atmospherics (I know I can).

However, even though apparently I've listened to this album nine times in the two years since its release (thanks last.fm), it still hasn't really stuck with me. It's familiar to me as I listen to it, but in the long run it's not particularly memorable. Maybe it's me—I have been listening to tons of this kind of music lately, and I could have just saturated myself to the point where it feels just like another everyday album that I happen to like. It's not really fair to the music, but that's how it goes.

But yeah, it's decent. I do still enjoy this album, and even though this style has been done to death I think As We Draw is one of the better bands to pull it off. If you can get past the iffy vocals, there's a really great sludge album in there.

6

Fuck the Facts, Bastards, Earthburner, Domestic Terror

January 25, 2013 • Carabar, Columbus, Ohio

I promised myself I wouldn't go back to Carabar ever, due to their atrocious booking skills that caused two shows I attended back in 2010 to last until 3 AM. However, they make it darn hard to resist with free shows and some really excellent bands. You may recall from my Disgorge Mexico review that Fuck the Facts is a pretty awesome band too, so I had to check this one out. It wasn't a fantastic show (largely due in part to the horrible audience), but it was fun all the same.

Domestic Terror

I didn't have high hopes for these guys going in, having sampled their stuff online, so I wasn't too disappointed by their mediocre performance. They market themselves as "shitty, but fun to listen to" (direct quote from someone who gave me a CD-R of their album), and at least the first part was right. As far as their sort of juvenile grindcore goes, there's definitely a way to do it right (Anal Cunt) and wrong (these guys). "Funny" song titles is not how you be a good band. Their drummer was actually pretty decent, using an interesting alternating-hand technique for blastbeats, but the guitar work and songwriting was poor.
3 • Most China Cymbals Award, Like Seriously

Earthburner

I did have high hopes for Earthburner, being more of a "sludgecore" band, but I found them to be a slightly disappointing example of it. Their music is very repetitive, as basically every song is the same open chugging over and over, with the occasional hardcore section sprinkled here and there. Decent for a song or two, but it got boring quickly. Still, they weren't horrible, and knew how to put on a decent groove. It might have been better if anyone in the audience seemed to care (aside from the half-dozen drunkards idiotically dancing around).
5 • Fanciest Les Paul Award

Bastards

Now here was a decent surprise. I was ready to dismiss them as being unprofessional after their incredibly long setup time (silly, I know), but they put on a hell of a set. They play a sort of death metal-influenced strain of grindcore, with lots of tempo and rhythm changes for thirty-second songs, and were technically very impressive. Particular praise should go to their drummer, who seemed to be making the fastest snare blasts I've seen by sheer force of will alone.
7 • Nerdiest-Looking Grindcore Band Award

Fuck the Facts

Unfortunately I don't have a whole lot to say about the headlining band's set—basically my opinion on the band was already laid out in my previous review, and their performance was reflective of that. Good energy, great songs—well, see for yourself! Someone was kind enough to tape the show. I don't think you can see me in it, though.
7 • Vocalist Who Looked Most Like a Receptionist Award

Abraham – The Serpent, the Prophet & the Whore

September 28, 2012 • Pelagic Records

I forgot to do my homework for this one. I have heard Abraham's debut An Eye on the Universe but I couldn't remember a thing about it until I revisited it for this review. In any case, it didn't register with me enough to go back to it at all. Their second album, however, is actually quite interesting and quite enjoyable in its own right.

One thing that stuck out to me is that Abraham's sound has changed quite a bit. This time around, they are bringing a much more heavily metalcore-influenced sound; the music is fast and intense, but still with a very dreary atmosphere, kind of like early Neurosis with a touch of early Mastodon. I suppose their first album had a touch of that extra hardcore influence above what you normally find in sludge, but in this album it's definitely turned up to the extreme. The fusion of slower, more groovy sections with pounding hardcore riffs is very well-executed and cohesive, which is great. It gives the album a very desparing and mechanical atmosphere to it which sounds very natural. The guitars have this sort of hard-yet-drawly sound to them that goes along with the clean vocals well (take, for instance, the end of "Man the Serpent").

Also note that the band's performance is much better than the debut. The vocals are most notably improved, especially the clean singing, and the production has been tightened up a lot, giving them a much-needed more-professional presentation. There are a few other neat things hidden in the album—apparently, one of the members of Cult of Luna handled the mixing, and it shows; there are some sounds and atmospheres present that definitely remind me of that band (see "This Is Not a Dead Man, Yet" for the most interesting example).

Despite maybe not being quite as musically varied as I might like (just a small flaw), The Serpent, the Prophet & the Whore is definitely a good album. I feel like sludge metal has been trending in a new direction over the last few years, and Abraham has caught on and are near the front of the wave. It'll be cool to see where they go in the future. Meanwhile, their sophomore effort is certainly a worthy one.

6

Celestine – This Home Will Be Our Grave

2008 • Molestin Records

Yeah, more of that dirty, filthy hardcore sludge stuff! Apparently it's all I listen to these days. (Granted, it's good music for this time of year.) Anyway, Celestine is an Icelandic band who started playing this kind of music a few years ago, and this—their debut album—is actually pretty impressive.

If you've heard any of the mathcore-sludge fusion stuff that's been put out lately (and that I've been reviewing lately), you'll already have a pretty good idea of what Celestine sounds like: it's heavy, dark, angry music, with quite a bit of diversity in the kind of riffs they play. There's your obligatory chugging sessions, progressive polyrhythmic sections, and quite a few breakdowns. There's a good handful of pretty catchy sections, too, but that still doesn't stop it from being an ugly album at the same time. Both the guitar and the vocals sound very tortured, straining to get themselves out, and I say that in the best way possible. It can sometimes make the album a tense listen as well. The drums and bass just kind of hang out in the background and support the drums and vocals, which is okay but I would have liked to hear them having a bigger role in things.

Still, I won't pretend it's anything particularly special—I feel like I've been hearing a lot of the same gritty, math-rock-fused style lately. (Maybe I've been reviewing it a lot by coincidence.) This makes it really difficult to give an unbiased opinion of this album—sure, maybe it's good, but I just feel so jaded right now.

So don't listen to me. If you haven't worn yourself out on this kind of stuff, give it a shot. Just don't expect to have your mind blown or your presuppositions of what sludge should be shaken to their foundations. It's a solid album, nothing more.

6

Struck by Lightning – Serpents

September 1, 2009 • Translation Loss Records

Not too long ago I wrote about seeing Struck by Lightning at a concert and being reasonably impressed by their chaotic hardcore-sludge sound. I decided to pick up their debut album Serpents to see if their studio output was on the same level as their live show; I suppose it is. While it's not the most original sound, they are still pretty talented musicians and the album is definitely enjoyable.

Unfortunately I have to get this out there first off: One thing that stands out more now that I didn't pick up on at the show is how much they sound like the popular prog-sludge bands out there, specifically Mastodon and Baroness. Granted, they're a much heavier version of either, but I can't help be reminded of Mastodon's Remission and Leviathan on many of the songs—the twin guitar harmonies, the incredibly complex and fill-heavy drumming, fast chugging riffs... all the same elements are there. Not to mention things like how a particular riff from Struck by Lightning's "Nothing Sacred" sounds exactly like one from Mastodon's "Aqua Dementia" (although if the title is a tongue-in-cheek reference to that fact, that's pretty awesome), and that isn't the only example.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to dismiss Struck by Lightning as being unoriginal for this, it's just something that sticks out. The songs are still quite good in their own right, and they pull out some fantastic monstrous riffs now and again—"The Watchful Eye", in particular, has a real kickass groove to the chorus. Additionally, the vocals sound a lot more punk and the guitars are lower and crunchier, giving the album a more crust punk sound. (Can't complain there.) Sometimes when it's not punky, it's doomy, like on "Becoming Earth", which is a cool twist and fits in well.

So Serpents manages to stand up on its own as a competent metal album really well, and despite its obvious influences it manages to do its style well without sounding stale thanks to its punk tendencies. It's basically the kind of direction I've been hoping the prog-sludge "scene" would take since the big players have been getting pretty stale as of late. Struck by Lightning has a new album out as of last month, in fact, and I'm hoping it'll be a bit more original (haven't heard it yet) but in the meantime Serpents is a mostly-respectable beginning.

7