I think this is the second full-length from this New Jersey hatecore band, but while they've always had some potential, they've never been able to win me over because I can't get past their immature approach. I know that at times this is probably intentionally meant to be sarcastic, but there are times when it seems pretty dead serious but still comes off as a bit cheesy. They keep getting more diverse and achieve better recordings, but the writing is still not too fluid. I love the basslines and the darker guitar parts, even when they get a little bit groovy, but some of the quirkier riffs aren't my thing, and when they start to get a little bit more abrasive and dissonant it just doesn't fit their generally straightforward, heavy style. I'm also not digging the funky singing vocals with a weird sort of natural vibrato to the out of tune notes, nor am I all that into the somewhat hip-hop influenced vocal arrangements that occasionally pop up. I'd stick with the bitter, guttural shouting. Some of the songs are too long as well. It's almost a stretch when they hover between four and five minutes, but when they exceed six and seven minutes it's definitely overkill... leading to an excessively long record that only offers a fair amount of diversity within the tracks, but not as a whole, since most of the songs basically sound quite similar to one another. While not great, "Aftercrawl" and "Voice Drawn Taunt" are the most consistent tracks on the record, sticking with a heavy direction that deviates enough to refrain from being too boring, but remains devoid of the annoying singing vocals and other such useless tactics. The oddly upbeat intro to "Voice Drawn Taunt" almost ruins it, but the rest of the track is pretty vicious, and provides my favorite moments on the disc. The production is rugged, almost sounding like a good demo to me, but it works out. The bass sounds excellent and has an awesome presence, the guitars are heavy, the drums sound natural, and the vocal texture comes forth nicely. There's some separation in there as far as the vocals and drums not being as cohesive as the bass and guitars, and at times areas do get muddy, but I can listen to this without any real setbacks I'd say. But I honestly can't stand the layout. The cover art is horrendous and cheesy, not to mention entirely pixilated, the band photos are either warped under Photoshop effects or just look like not-so-good snapshots (no real clarity, poor color saturation, etc.), the pages of the booklet are strewn with bright green text and a lot of wasted space (huge thanks lists, a blank black page, a list of available merch, etc.), everything is hard to read because there are altered photos underneath all of the lyrics and stuff... it's just far too unprofessional for a full-length effort, or even a demo for that matter. The lyrics tend to deal with anger and frustration, sometimes leading to vengeance, and while there are single lines that I appreciate, for the most part I'm not into the delivery. "How 'bout a nice fat 2x4, I'll swing, you head for the door, Do not shake me the wrong way, You twisted freak, Because I am not as silly as you might be, So go on and scamper away my little one, Your day will come, You'll get what you deserve." The bottom line for Sludge!, and many bands like them, is that it's very hard to take them seriously - first and foremost because the visual presentation reflects neither their musical style nor their age as a band/as individuals, but also because the lyrics and overall feel are only hinting at what they could be, while getting bogged down with erroneous nonsense. It's just not professional. Clearly they're taking the extra step by pressing their releases onto pro CD's with proper printing and jewel cases and everything, but that doesn't make a difference when the content of the songs is sub par and the visual aesthetic is an enormous glitch. I don't know...
[self-released]
Running time - 45:47, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Aftercrawl, Voice Drawn Taunt]
Sludge! - http://members.bellatlantic.net/~sludge98/
