These guys are going further down the Tom Waits rabbit hole. The guitar is carried with a jazzier tone. There is a jammy abstract element that gets broken up by their heavier tendencies. As far as musicianship goes their game has really been stepped up. It's a weird collision of prog with punk. The groove slows down for "Vileness Slim". The bass steps up and holds it down. The drummer is also really on point now. Guitar-wise some of the zaniness in motion makes me think of Frank Zappa. The only unnerving element is the coarse moan of the vocals. However, this does help them retain their identity.
The title track finds their brand of weird digging deeper. Sadly it does not groove like the first two songs. There is a more dissonant element to it. There is a minimalist ambiance that pervades the middle of this song. The vocals take on a drunken scowl. The groove returns for "Ancient Souls.." They maintain their surly demeanor. Noise haunts the drone as the vocals chant along. Of course, a sonic oddity has to hi-jack the song but it still works pretty well.
Black Pudding Served at the Horn of the Altar" has a very noir feel it, which is a stark contrast against the song's title which sounds like a Dungeons & Dragons module. This would also work on the soundtrack of a David Lynch Project. The vocals rant with desperation. "Hatful of Rain" oddly might be one of the more melodic songs, despite the growls that drip with effects the music works well as a counterpoint to this. It builds into what might be the album's most metallic moment. "Legion of Bottom Deck Dealers" wanders a bit before going into a darker metal middle section, and comes out of this in a more free-form jam. There is a more flowing jazz that emerges from this. The growled mutter of the vocals prowls around this.
The instruments embrace melody on the last song as the vocals continue to mutter in a growled manner,this is a lighter more hopeful mood, with the howl of the vocals the only thing anchoring it to ugliness. I will give this album a 9.5, and see how it grows on me the metal elements have been reduced to a more marginalized frequency, as the jazz-influenced progressed leaning have taken over but it works really well.
\ pst430
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