In the Company of Serpents : "A Crack in Everything"

 

This band always scores a 9 here, which puts them in the upper tiers of doom/ sludge bands. They are always very organic, and this album holds a similar warmth, perhaps a more jammed-out feel when it comes to the songwriting. Great guitar playing embodies these songs, so if you are into guitars, this album is for you. The vocals are a throaty bellow that rides the groove but are more of an obligatory standard. They have more purpose on the second, though the verse finds them doing more of a Tom Waits thing. 

I know these guys are from Denver, which explains why they sound like a more southern take on sludge, it is because they smoke of ton of weed. They are often now more like a more sludged-out version of Clutch in the blues-infused way the songs groove. "Endless Well" finds their apocalyptic boogie dancing in a similar place to the other songs. "Buzzard Logic' finds things getting a little darker. The darker vibes are what lean this toward doom, where the bombastic fuzzed-out wall of guitars is more in line with sludge. On this one, the song roars long with the vocals, to create a heavy song, but not the album's best song. 

"Until Death Darkens Our Door' is like a depressive Tom Waits folk ballad run through Nick Cave's perspective. They close things out in a more bombastic metallic fashion for "Ghosts in the Periphery." It feels different than the previous albums, the songwriting is at times more focused, but overall I think this earns a 9, as well, which is certainly among the better albums of this genre, matured and more melodic but still heavy enough for old fans.

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