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

Alaric : "End of Mirrors"

I've been a fan of this band since the whole death rock revival came into my consciousness. Now five years later, my fears that they might have broken up are put to rest making this a very welcome return. All the things that have made them work in the past are in place here. Like a doomed out version of Killing Joke the band plows into the post- apocalyptic wasteland their music conjures. There are varied levels of gloom ridden melody thanks to their bassist. The opener drones on a little from the onset but it all pays off when the song kicks in. While it has a brooding under current the tribal drumming gets a little more upbeat on "Wreckage". It doesn't grab me with the same urgency as the first song, but grows on me with repeat listens. It took three listens before I really wrapped my head around it's hypnotizing groove.

"Mirrors" has more of a cool goth slink to it. Shane Baker's vocal commit more fully to the desperate croon than we have heard from him in their previous releases. The guitar melody is hooky and the bass player continues to to kill it. "Adore" begins with a more balladic brooding and slowly swells with layers of despairing pleading. It eventually picks up into more of plodding punk drone before the noise crazed wave of atmosphere over takes it. "the Shrinking World" continues to drift down the dreamy desolation of a paranoid urban landscaped described in the lyrics. This is dark story telling along the lines of Tom Waits or Nick Cave.

The title stomps back into motion. Heavy and driving as metal, by most definitions derived after 1988 this is not metal, unless Hawkwind falls within your bounds of metal.  It is as heavy sonically as it is aggressive. This line of though taps into a key component of their sound this aggression, even in the albums more passive moments it's still bubbling under the surface like a serial killer staring at themselves in the mirror. While this band might have come into my consciousness along when the death rock revival rolled into the inner webs, I think a song like "Angel" makes it clear that to dismiss this band as death rock is dramatically over simplifying it even at the most morose. The ghostly quality to this song doesn't make you feel like you are sharing needles in West Hollywood on Halloween night. It is more expansive in the way it haunts you. It's going to take a few more listens before this slow working drug is fully in my system, but it lives up to the legacy they began so I'll around it up to a 10.