Oldspeak : 's/t"

Sludge fans should find themselves pretty content when this album roars to life. It takes you back to the early 2000s when bands like Isis were the newest most exciting force in metal. The hype around sludge has ebbed to the point bands are not self-identifying as that much these days. No matter what this band from Ohio tells you, they are not post-doom or doom gaze they are sludge. They should be proud as they are doing a fine job of it and bring a convincing level of atmosphere to these songs, that keeps them from sounding like the raw pound of cavemen. 

There is almost a Neurosis like level of sonic experimentation with "Drawing a  Circle " being more of an ambient interlude. On "Black Static and the Great Redeemer" the vocals carry a fine level of anguish to their howls as the band continues a dreary pound. 'Precession" is more of a straightforward pounding that just finds the mushrooms kicking in sooner than expected. The weird continues to sprawl out its web of dreamy dusk. 'Ladder of Self Destruction" is a thoughtful climb, with depressive motivation. Mdway in things catch with their trademark pummeling which proves effective. 

If my LSD trips were a song they would be the last track of this album. It's a swirl of chaotic ambiance. There are the howls of vocals, and think they did use instruments to create this, but I am not counting it as a song for the purpose of this review, due to its lack of any musical coherence. It's not a negative thing, it's just how it is. I think this is a wonderful album, it takes me back to the days when sludge bands were more depressed and doing more drugs, to make something beautiful from the ugliness of it all I will give this album a 9.5 

pst83