Wednesday 3 June 2015

‘Leechfeast/Meth Drinker’ - Split 12" (Review)


Album Type: Split 12
Date Released: 15/5/2015
Label: Dry Cough / Raw Birth Records

‘Leechfeast/Meth Drinker’ split 12 track listing:

1). Leechfeast – Aimless
2). Meth Drinker – Sewer

Review:

Another split, from two of the most brutal and evil fuzz mongering creations to ever bully their way onto the airwaves, Leechfeast and Meth Drinker? Oh hell Yeah! 

At 2 songs long, but over 19 minutes in length, it's a no brainer. This split is between some incredibly heavy bands, with absolutely no highs, simply knuckle-dragging, scum fuzzy, simplistic doom riffing that one can imagine without some extreme drug habits. Along the Lines of Keeper and War Iron, neither band gives so much as an inch of comfort in their sound, keeping it low and slow, with vocalists who sound like they are simply vomiting their demons out. The move for a 12" record was smart, because these long songs could fill both sides of a 7" easily, on their respective own.

Starting this party is Leechfeast, with Aimless (9:18). They start with a lullaby of feedback, which they just slam into a blackish wall of riffs. It’s very plodding, very steady. The vocals are wavering behind this monolithic noise, and give a very trippy air to the first parts. It's a very bleak sound, and really doesn't ever go away. The real vocals come shortly after, with much venom, acidic and simply thrown at the listener. Leechfeast don't want you comfortable, they wish to crush you under a sky of grating blackness. There is no flair to the rest of the band, the drums are just as plodding and sound somewhat like they are in another room, so as not to detune when the guitars crank up. If there is a bass player, he was swallowed by the Elder Gods sometime ago, and he was buried somewhere in that pedal signal. And that's not to say it never changes. It goes from what sounds like a stupidly simple Sabbathian riff with regular string changes around 5 and a half minutes, into what sounds like a bridge cable being picked in an really pissed off manner. 

Even more basic than your average white girl, Meth Drinker literally sounds like tectonic plates smashing against one another. It’s a huge, bass ridden sound, and it overwhelms the ear. They don't do leads of fret work, but they have cornered the market on huge, held riffs and chords. This is what your doom sounds like as it marches, ceaselessly, until the fateful time you meet in your last moments. It plods with purpose, thrumming with what sound like thick cables, the bass continuing a simple riff, as guitar fluctuates and offers screaming feedback to the Heavy Gods. It very simple, very heavy, and offers nothing but the sonic equivalent of a detuned monster truck. It is monstrous, and will slowly push you into a sonic morass for the almost 10 minute runtime.

This split isn't for the faint of ear, and will test the casual doom/drone fans. Enjoy!

Words by: Hunter Young

‘Leechfeast/Meth Drinker’ is available here

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