This Hamden based band plays a grunged out form of sludge metal that could have come from the 90s. The guitar are thick and as fuzzy as the coat of grit the production seems to have covered the album in. They hold onto Clutch like grooves with vocals that howl over the riffs , but are sung rather than growled. Corrsion of Conformity is also a point of reference when trying to point to the sonic sphere they are coming from. They might not be the most original thing I have heard but are entertaining. The bass player is the first member of the band that really stands out to me as going above and beyond. "Bound By ability" goes in a more Black Sabbath by way of old Soundgarden direction. The vocals go into a upper register that reaches towards Chris Cornell heights when not in a throaty roar. So far I would say this album is more grunge than doom.
The title track continues to rock out in the vein of post-grunge metal. The riffs dance between traditional metal and grunge, the vocals continue to scream over things but without Cornell's knack for hooky vocal melodies and instead feel like they wandering around over the song looking for a place to go . "Unknown" digs them more firmly into conforming to corrosion and while there has been some fun parts to the songs that take me back to 96, by this point the songwriting formula is firmly intact to the point of the songs beginning to sound the same. "Sliver Thumb" sounds like an extended Sabbath like jam that I assumed was part of the previous song. Things lock together better on "Futile Intellect". It's also the first song where there is a burst of harsh vocals. The groove is catchier and follow a more streamline approach on " Ruined Railroad" that closes out the album.
These guys have potential. I think I would have liked this album more as a teenager. I'll give it a 6.5, check it out if you miss what metal was like in the 90s before Korn came along.
5.4
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