From Kansas comes this trio of sludgy rock with a layered vocal attack (gruff yelling), lots of thick and gritty textures, and a bit of a mathy sort of influence to some of the rhythms. It's really pretty good, and downright catchy on occasion. But most importantly it's not typical of this style at all. "Tonymegshi" does drop some very typical blues-based stoner rock runs, but that's about the only place you'll hear 'em, and the track is full of really curious uses of harmonics and memorable chord progressions/vocal arrangements. "Tres F?tbol del Mono I" starts out quieter and a lot more subtly melodic than the other tracks with some distant guitar lines than have an oddly progressive sort of flare (in a spacey sort of way, not in a technical manner) - overall it's a slower and darker piece, but easily the strongest on the entire disc. "Gasmouth" uses some quirky time signatures and is one of the longest and most repetitive pieces, though it does work. The production is pretty good. The drums sound awesome, as do the vocals, and I love the texture of the guitars, but I think the guitars and bass need more volume or density somehow, because drums and vocals tend to dominate the mix (especially vocals), even though the other instruments are plainly evident. It's a minor issue, though. Everything is close to where it should be and the tones are all nice, so that's a good place to be. This is one of the better looking Crucial Blast releases, granted it could still use minor work (mainly in the font choices for the smaller lettering), but at least nothing is pixilated or anything. The color scheme is consistent, there are some weird illustrations, etc. It's somewhat minimal, and none of the lyrics are included unfortunately, but it works. It's a step in the right direction for the label's presentation of their releases. For the most part this is damn fine release from a band that could be mighty incredible if you ask me. I'm glad it's an EP (I assume) because were it too much longer it might start to drag, but at less than 25 minutes it hits the spot. I'd like to hear them with a little bit more tempo variation and a thicker sound, but I like their writing, and this is an enjoyable disc.
[Crucial Blast]
Running time - 23:51, Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Tres F?tbol del Mono I, Case in Progress]
Crucial Blast Industries - http://www.crucialblast.net
