Noothgrush : " Man isHis Own Tormentor"

From the early sludge scene ofthe 90s, the band helped to bridge metal into the underground hardcore scene. Members of this band went on to play in bands such as Graves at Sea, Dystopia, Phobia, and Ghoul.  This album comes from their more obscure7" releases, which, unless you found them on a merch table at a punk show, were out of reach even if you tried to order them from an ad in Maximum Rock n Roll. There wasno interst so a being being undergorund was almsotlikethe hunt for an occult tome rather than being able to go on a site like DEAD AIR AT THE PULPIT and request it in the chat.  This makes this album more important for all practical purposes; many of these songs are just seeing the light of day, so I will review it as such.

Right from the start, you can here how this sort of thing took inspiration from Eyehategod is the scathing vocal approach. There isa Mr Rogers sample going into "Dianoga".The guitar lumbers with a doomy bleakness, and the lyrics are inarticulated screams of anguish. It is oppressively heavy and has stood thetest of time. "DPS " has more movement and groove, making it the best of the bunch so far. "Useless' has more punch and purpose, with the vocals being more distinct. 

In the live portion of this album, they play the "Imperial March," which they weave into their own song. Live version ofthe previously mentioned songs I am not going to review again, as I am more concerned with the songwriting of them to begin with. "Sith" stays with the Star Wars theme. It is a noisy, harrowing sludge song that flirts with the darkness of doom. "Erode the Person" starts of with the reluctant thump of a bass. And heads them in a doomy direction. I like the depressive touches the guitars add. Dynamics the songdrones a bit. 

"Junland Waste" works well as it marries the downtrodden density with more motion. Amid the rumble, the guitar has a lingering life to it. Their cover of Celtic Frost's "Procreation of the Wicked" feels like they learned the main riff, then defaulted to more death metal vocals. "Friends of Mine" has the best production value and lingers with a deliberate stomp that lurches out from the shadows. I have always said that sludge is what happens when punks try to play doom, and I think this proves my point. I will give this album a 9.

psy397