Here's some aggressive, rockin' doom/sludge type of stuff from this trio whose drummer handles the vocals. The vocals are actually way more aggressive than the music is... while the music deals more with moderately paced rock-based chord progressions and such, the vocals are over the top throaty yells that fit the music but do head in a rawer direction. I'm much more interested in the rhythm section here than anything else, mainly because the basslines are very prominent and in my opinion really drive this material. The guitar riffing is sort of typical, I don't like it when the guitars go off into noisier territory and get chaotic, and I'm not really into the solos either (they're either too fuzzed out and abrasive or too repetitive). But I love the bass parts. Just check out the up and down all over the place runs in the instrumental track "Stingray". Excellent. The one song that really sticks out as a whole is the title track: It's a bit slower, far heavier, darker, and just all around more powerful than most of the other compositions. There are some dissonant chord progressions that really stand apart, the drumming really builds with the dynamics of the track, and there's some intense vocal layering happening as well. "Fuck Off" is shorter and faster, not to mention more energetic, but it's still not as forceful as the title track. I do like the variety, though. The recording needs work. The bass tone is fucking awesome and I love the fact that the bass is damn near louder than the guitars, the drums sound good, etc. However the guitar tone is too thin and the vocals are too loud, and I find that to be a big distraction. The guitars need to be thicker and the vocals need to drop back in with the music so that there won't be any gaps in the mix (and right now there are more than a few). The layout's okay. I'm not that into it just because of the style of art. The front and back covers have a computerized illustration of a dude who's on fire looking to the sky wearing a sign that reads, "Repent now - avoid the rush on doom's day." Inside there is a black and white illustration of some severed fingers along with a few brief lines of apocalyptic text ("...the final days of doom, the sickly morbid tomb, the sweet smell of death, like a dying red rose, to the pits of hell, where the tortured soul knows.") and the center spread has a black and white photo collage with some lineup/recording information and stuff. I don't know. It looks okay, I just don't really like the fonts they've chosen and the illustrations aren't my thing. I think the label has a slick logo, though. And I don't think I've ever said that before, ha, ha. I don't know... there's a lot of potential here, but I think they need to work more with their variety, mixing the faster pissed off stuff with the slower and darker material. A better recording/mix would definitely help them out a great deal, but only about half of this rather brief full-length is relatively enjoyable.
[Worldeater]
Running time - 30:37, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Stingray, Burnin' Doom]
Worldeater Records - http://www.worldeaterrecords.com
