By: Charlie Butler
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 14/10/2016
Label: Thrill
Jockey
Oozing Wound take
the listener on a wild ride during the course of “Whatever Forever”. A perfect balance of no-nonsense,
metal mayhem and off-kilter complexity, it’s an album that sometimes strokes
its beard but always bangs its head.
“Whatever Forever”
CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Rambo 5 (Pre-Emptive Strike)
2).
Diver
3).
Deep Space
4).
Mercury in Retrograde Virus
5).
Weather Tamer
6).
Everything Sucks, and My Life is a Lie
7).
Eruptor
8).
Tachycardia
9).
You Owe Me, Iommi
10).
Sky Creep
The Review:
If
Saviours
crashed their van into a pool of radioactive noise rock sludge, the monster
that emerged would sound a lot like Oozing Wound. The Chicago
“Rambo
5 (Pre-Emptive Strike)” kicks things off in furious fashion with a
whirlwind of riffage and unhinged fretboard abuse. If Rambo 5 does get the
official go-ahead, the producers would be foolish to have anyone else but Oozing Wound
provide the soundtrack. This track sets the bar for excellent song titles
throughout the album too, beaten only by “You Owe Me, Iommi”, a brief clean
guitar interlude before the closing burn-out of “Sky Creep”.
If
Oozing Wound
were simply a thrash band they would still be awesome but it’s their epic
forays into stranger territory that provide the highlights on “Whatever Forever”. “Mercury
In Retrograde Virus” and “Weather Tamer” are both eight
minute monsters that showcase what the band are capable of when they slow their
assault down a touch and let their exploratory capabilities take over. The
mid-section of “Mercury in Retrograde Virus” particularly highlights the
skills of bassist Kevin Cribbin as the bass becomes the lead instrument while
guitarist Zack Weil lays down a solid foundation of riffage. This makes the
low-end impact all the more powerful when Cribbin and Weil revert to their
traditional roles. “Everything Sucks and My Life is a Lie” demonstrates another
facet of the band’s sound, a driving voyage with a melodic, spacey edge
courtesy of some delayed guitar that recalls Cave In’s more cosmic moments.
Oozing Wound take the
listener on a wild ride during the course of “Whatever Forever”. A
perfect balance of no-nonsense, metal mayhem and off-kilter complexity, it’s an
album that sometimes strokes its beard but always bangs
its head.
