Batillus is an Industrial/Doom/Sludge Metal Band from Brooklyn, NY, USA
The members are: G. Peterson, W. Stabenau, F. Kainer, G. Summers
Now Batillus are a band most of us should be familiar with. They have been releasing a string of acclaimed releases since their formation in 2007 when they started purely as an Instrumental Doom/Sludge Metal Band.
Now 6 years later they are a fully formed Industrial/Doom/Sludge Metal collective unit winning praise from fans and critics alike for their blend of great industrial based sludge metal riffs.
Their 2011 debut album – Furnace – won them a loyal following in the Sludge Metal underground for Batillus own take on Doom/Sludge Metal. It was an album that I rated very highly two years ago. Well after a two-year break – Batillus are back with their most creative work to date. – Concrete Sustain.
Concrete Sustain is a 35-minute journey into the harsh industrial wastelands of Doom/Sludge Metal. As Batillus have embraced their industrial metal parts like never before to portray an unflinching world at war with itself. Everything is played at a mid-paced tempo to match the harsh cold atmospherics lurking underneath the albums exterior.
First track – Concrete – is aptly named as everything is loud, heavy, cold and leaves you with a bleak grey mood throughout. However, you cannot deny who brilliantly the song is put together with ambient glitches and noises blended with superb vocals tearing through your pitiful world. As the song frequently shouts – DOMINATE and DOMINATE they do from here now in.
Up next is Beset another devastating journey that Batillus take you on. Noises and riffs are your guide through the bleak territories the band easily conjures up at will. Harsh grizzled vocals and ambient-based industrial riffs make this another unsettling journey into the realm of Batillus. The landscape is bleak, harsh and frightening just like their music. The eight mins does feature an impressive and vast array of sounds and ambient noises that fit brilliantly well within Batillus' blend of Doom/Sludge Metal.
You can tell this is an album that Batillus took their time with, as a sublime riff comes out of nowhere around the 5 minute mark to give the listener that little bit of hope amongst the darkness and ruins around them. But alas, it is a short respite before the loud angrier Batillus shine through to claim the listener’s soul for their own.
That is how Concrete Sustain plays out for the remaining 5 songs. Bleak Industrial based Sludge/Doom Metal riffs with a great apocalyptic vibe. The band builds up the tension and atmosphere on each song before all heck breaks loose. Adding more terrifying layers of sound with creepy lyrics to match. None more so on Mirrors. This song will surely give you chills and nightmares for many days to come.
This is an album that might take you a few listens to get the full effect as Batillus have truly evolved with their sound from Furnace. Sounds and noises come at you from nowhere in the vast darkness Batillus have offer on here. Concrete Sustain is an album that is truly alive. They have added a dark demented soul to their music and it is not a pretty sight.
Batillus have taken another almighty step towards greatness. Concrete Sustain is a phenomenal release and one that should rightly see Batillus winning more plaudits than ever before.
Amazing and Highly Recommended.
Concrete Sustain will be available to buy on Seventh Rule Recordings from March 2013.
Check Batillus from the links below:
Official
BandCamp
