Boasting a lineup whose members have been involved with Confessor, Fly Machine, Breadwinner, Butterglove, and Honor Role... you know this instrumental quartet from Virginia/North Carolina is going to kick out some odd timed jams. And indeed they do just that, in fine form. In my opinion this sounds almost exactly like Confessor sans vocals, except that it's heavier, some of the riffing is a little bit quirkier, and the time signatures are easier to follow (without being even close to straightforward). The guitars tend to work together in most instances, playing off of similar riffs, but they're hard panned so everything is clear and you can differentiate between each half. The drumming is of course fucking awesome, I mean god damnit, Steve Shelton is one of the best fucking drummers ever, and here his performance is as fluid and ever-changing as always. I also like the fact that the bass is easily audible and often drops into the gaps between what the guitars and drums are doing, creating some even more subtle twists on a rhythmic level. Opener "Thagina" is probably the quirkiest track, as things seem to change on a constant scale and the guitar parts jump from chunky chords to hammer-on/pull-off riffs and weird note combinations. "New Jersey" is somewhat similar, but the chords are more "normal", even if the arrangements are still pretty whacked out and mathematical. "Church Burntings" is the longest piece - slower and a bit darker - with a lot of dissonant dual guitar work and some monstrously thick chord progressions happening. This one's powerful as hell. "Noise International" closes with some traditional thrash riffing/picking patterns, but once you throw in those choppy rhythmic arrangements it really changes the feel completely. The production is really fucking good for just being a demo. The guitar tones are really heavy but not muddy, and the two guitars sound ever so slightly different so they counterbalance one another. I also love the drum tones. No complaints there. The only thing I would alter is the mix. Barely. I'd kick the bass up a little bit more (which might require easing back on the low-end of the guitar distortion) and maybe turn the guitars down by a hair so that the drums would come to the center a little more blatantly. Other than that the mastering is too quiet, and the fourth track is a lot quieter than the first three, which is unfortunate, but it's nothing that adjusting the volume knob on the stereo won't solve. The CD-R comes in a simple black sleeve with the band logo on the front and the track titles on the back (both are stickers that have been slapped onto the center of the sleeve). It's nothing special, but it gets the job done and keeps the price down, and since it looks fine, who cares? Like most people I sort of found about this band by accident, but I'm damn fucking happy that they got this demo out, and I certainly hope this isn't the last we'll be hearing from 'em. Fans of the members' past work should not hesitate to invest in this piece of work... Hell, it only costs $4, so buy one... you cheap bastards.
[self-released]
Running time - 11:38, Tracks: 4
[Notable tracks: definitely "Thagina" and "Church Burntings", but the other two as well]
Loincloth - http://members.aol.com/loinsofmetal/
