Just catching up with these Memphis-based metal heads who dropped this album back in May. It started off with a more agonized blast before finding their footing in the more deliberate atmosphere they begin to trudge with more authority. Their strength as a band is the ability to recognize they can only effectively crush you by giving you the chance to catch your breath, rather than just a single-minded assault on your ear drums. The first song does set the bar pretty high for them so the challenge is going to be can they measure up to this promise.
The second track is just an atmospheric instrumental interlude that gives the drummer a chance to warm up. "Mental Furnace' finds them firing up for a more wrathful attack. I have normally adhered to the fact that sludge is what happens when punks try to play doom, but never emphasized that these are typically crust punk who have a greater appreciation for the sonic qualities. The guitars form some melodic themes that are haunting enough to make this work, but it is not a huge leap from the first song. I think hearing the vocals roar more purposefully is going to be what I need from this album to show me it's more about songs than sound.
The songs drift right out of each other in a way that makes sense but also begins to display some uniformity. "Blurring Lucidity" finds this happening in a manner that carries a hypnotic drone. Two members of the band are listed as playing synths and this is where you can feel that coming into play. The vocals making an effort to sing even if it sits back in the mix goes a long way with me. "Entrenched Guilt" attacks not unlike how early Mastodon once did, with the guitars still dancing around each other. It is not a drawn-out jam but gets to the point by kicking you in the face.
"Lathe of Misery" simmers in the ambiance for a while to bask in the gloom. Sung vocals prove more effective in creating the narrative, as they fake you out thinking the thunder is going to strike, You are midway into the song before the coarse roared vocals come back in. "Mourning Skin" brings an even more haunting tone into play. They capture a pretty stunning balance of being as heavy sonically as they are metal here, thanks to the atmosphere in motion. There is a two-minute instrumental leading into the last song. There is a more sweeping post-rock guitar line leading into the meat of the song. It's one of the more aggressive songs on the album, but still balanced with melody. Guitars cascade down as things swell to a climax. I will give this album a 9.5, it washes you in its beautiful darkness.
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