Mares of Thrace : "Loss"

The fourth album from this Canadian band. Oddly, the first time we have covered them here, they play a fairly caustic version of sludge, that snarls with a more brooding, angular desperation than Eyehategod. They are more introspective and not as entrenched in punk, as there are moody melodic sections. The theme of this album is the stages of grief. "The First Stage, Shock" is more deliberate and shows some deliberate plays that hold elements of noise rock, even in how things ring out with dissonant melancholy. The drumming on this album is very solid. I also enjoy the fact that they employ different vocal colors from singing to a snarl.  

There is a raw emotional current driving the core of these songs. They give more weight to the vocal delivery, and the chaops beings brought to a boil on a song like "Denial". The guitar tones on this album are very organic and not the normal overfuzzed wall of density, which allows odd notes to ring out more and give what they are doing here more personality rather than a barrage of sound. As expected, "Anger" is heavier with a lingering stomp of hardcore haunting it. It digs into its chug like early Mastodon. "Disenfranchised Grief" finds the band pounding out a riff with a piano melody where the vocals would sit. 

Things grow more melodic for the bargaining stage of grief, until they throw themselves into a grindcore-like blast before winding back around for a crusty sludge pulsing.  I like that they really put thought into the songwriting, as twists and turns show their commitment to the nuance of the story they are telling. "Complicated Grief" is a more rock approach to the songwriting, though with the weight of their burly sound behind them. Her purposeful expulsion of each word leaves the lyrics at the forefront. They pull some pretty powerful riffs out, but are not content with resting on their laurels to relying on them. 

The raw grim reality of the songs creates a mood not unlike last years Couch Slut album. Going into the stage of depression, I expect things to become darker and more introspective, since I am normally a depressed person, and this is where I am most of the time. They tend to steer things toward the doomier side of the genre with this one. The odd verses create space for the vocals to emote from a more tortured place. Rather than going where you assume the chorus is going to be, they jam out a guitar melody. The song is over nine minutes, so they have plenty of time to play with. The drummer is great at creating negative space in music to later change the time signature.  This kind of collision of angular sound makes me think of Forget Cassettes. They continue to converge into metallic chugs that keep your head moving. 

"Acceptance' feels more like an outro than a free-standing song with its own two legs. It does wrap things up nicely, and there is not much to say about acceptance, though it is what people have the hardest time with, so perhaps this is why it is such an abbreviated contemplation. I will give this album a 9.5, putting it shoulder to shoulder with the best sludge album of the year so far.Out on Art of Fact Records.  

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