The Scottish sludgsters are dropping their third album. It is typically rowdy enough, with proggy passages and clean vocals that fly out of the din. Things get much more melodic in the second song. There is certainly a huge Mastodon influence hanging over them. The guitar hypnotically winds around itself. It plays it almost a little too safe, as this sounds like the prog I was listening to 20 years ago. The busy nature of their riffing begins to get a little more tedious with "Reaching for Telos". Midway into the song they rein it back and ride on the sonic groove, but by that point, I have had to sit through enough riff wankery.
They continue to rage on with a great deal of bombast. There is just not much at that throbbing speed to hook you in. They are decent songwriters with a clever enough knack for throwing punches in when accents are called for. Perhaps the vocals could do more than howl or just sing in a monotone fashion. The recoil and expand formula that creates an almost Tool like dynamic works well enough, but I feel they are capable of adding more sonic colors. "Path of Dust" breaks things down to a clean guitar tone, but it's only an interlude however it sets the stage for more intentional melodies to follow it.
The harsher howled vocals are very Neurosis influenced. The sung vocals are higher with an almost emo vibe to them. This works for me, it helps to set them apart from other bands doing this sort of thing. Some of the melodies that lurk under the explosive outbursts of guitars are the only hints they are from Scottland , if you told me this band was from Savannah GA, it would make an equal amount of sense to me. When they stomp into a heavier more deliberate with the weight of "Abode of the Perfect Soul" it works much better for me even if it's more like every other sludge band. "Pleroma" grooves with more of a Tool-like tension, which I can appreciate over just balls-to-the-wall howling. The last song works off a more melodic pulsation with the drums doubling up to keep things in motion. This album does find it's groove and might be more mathy than what I normally indulge in when it comes to progressive sludge, I will however give it an 8, as they execute what they set out to do well and fans of heavy prog should dig this. It drops on Metal Blade Records.
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