Noothgrush : " Man isHis Own Tormentor"

From the early sludge scene ofthe 90s, the band helped to bridge metal into the underground hardcore scene. Members of this band went on to play in bands such as Graves at Sea, Dystopia, Phobia, and Ghoul.  This album comes from their more obscure7" releases, which, unless you found them on a merch table at a punk show, were out of reach even if you tried to order them from an ad in Maximum Rock n Roll. There wasno interst so a being being undergorund was almsotlikethe hunt for an occult tome rather than being able to go on a site like DEAD AIR AT THE PULPIT and request it in the chat.  This makes this album more important for all practical purposes; many of these songs are just seeing the light of day, so I will review it as such.

Right from the start, you can here how this sort of thing took inspiration from Eyehategod is the scathing vocal approach. There isa Mr Rogers sample going into "Dianoga".The guitar lumbers with a doomy bleakness, and the lyrics are inarticulated screams of anguish. It is oppressively heavy and has stood thetest of time. "DPS " has more movement and groove, making it the best of the bunch so far. "Useless' has more punch and purpose, with the vocals being more distinct. 

In the live portion of this album, they play the "Imperial March," which they weave into their own song. Live version ofthe previously mentioned songs I am not going to review again, as I am more concerned with the songwriting of them to begin with. "Sith" stays with the Star Wars theme. It is a noisy, harrowing sludge song that flirts with the darkness of doom. "Erode the Person" starts of with the reluctant thump of a bass. And heads them in a doomy direction. I like the depressive touches the guitars add. Dynamics the songdrones a bit. 

"Junland Waste" works well as it marries the downtrodden density with more motion. Amid the rumble, the guitar has a lingering life to it. Their cover of Celtic Frost's "Procreation of the Wicked" feels like they learned the main riff, then defaulted to more death metal vocals. "Friends of Mine" has the best production value and lingers with a deliberate stomp that lurches out from the shadows. I have always said that sludge is what happens when punks try to play doom, and I think this proves my point. I will give this album a 9.

psy397

DEADFORM : "Entrenched in Hell"

 

This is the first full-length from this Oakland based crust trio which features Dino Sommese from Dystopia on drums as well as sharing vocal duties with Brian Clouse from Stormcrow, who is also playing bass in this project. The furious sounds unleashed on this album highlight the things I love about the Crust genre. It's heavy, yet grooving in its pummeling. There is also a dark apocalyptic mood churning from the songs. The tones coming from their blown-out amps are burly enough to belong to a sludge band, but they are played with more of a punk attitude. There is a slight touch of thrash in the hook to the riffs. Think more Voivod than Slayer in this regard. 

For "As Above So Below"  they pick up the pace a little. The guitars ring out to create a great deal of sonic chaos as the song's throb lurches toward you.  The rasp of the vocals is articulated enough to make out they are howling about worshipping rotted flesh. I mentioned the punk attitude, however, do not let yourself be fooled into thinking this is simple three-chord bashing, arrangements have dynamic depth and owe more to Celtic Frost than Black Flag. The more doom-minded "The Exit" paints a bleak picture with the sounds they are bringing to life. It converges into a powerful chug, that is hard not to headbang to. 

Things get even more downtrodden for "Peacekeeper" with the vocals vomiting out a more wretched rasp. The guitarist allows the chords to ring out to create some dynamic space for mood, as the song is allowed to breathe more than the first three. A nasty bass tone drags you deeper into the filthy world of "Misery' which holds more tension, with a punk punch to the chorus. This album shows you do not need a big-name producer or million-dollar studio to capture a great-sounding album that hits you with the weight of their live sounds while retaining the larger-than-life studio atmosphere. The guitar tones are sick as hell, but not overproduced by any stretch. They step on the gas a little for the last song, but the deliberate pace retains the power they have been pumping at you for the entire album. This is really well written and executed, the mood is dismal and real. I will give this flawless piece of crust metal a 10.It drops on October 25th. 

pst465