Sunday 7 June 2015

No Trust - The Cycle (Album Review)


Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: June 30th 2015
Label: Self Released

The Cycle - Track Listing:

1.Beneath The Earth
2.Circle of The Sky
3.Nothing Remains
4.Scapegoat
5.Light Fades
6.Host Body
7.Wolves

Bio:

No Trust is a two-piece sludge/death metal band from the California bay area.

Band Members:

Zach Guzman
Ben Guzman

Review:

No Trust first came to my attention back in 2013 when I featured their debut album. Now 18 months later the guys are back with their new album - The Cycle. A progressive sludge/doom metal hybrid with ferocious death based growls to match. If you're into the heavier and primal side of Sludge Metal that Mastodon used to make back in the day then No Trust is the band for you. Opening track - Beneath the Earth - is dark and violent as they come in the Sludge Metal world as the band offers no compromises with their bleak take on Progressive Sludge Metal. The doom and gloom effect is laid on thick from the very start as this album stays mean, nasty and moody throughout. The riffs are pitch black though they have a clever use of hardcore beats and breakdown riffs to impress you with.

Second Track - Cycle Of The Sky - carries on the bleak atmospheric mood with the music venturing firmly into Death Metal territory with the slight hint of Sludge Metal kept in the background. The vocals whilst primal and harsh are easy to understand so you can understand what the band is angry about. No Trust style of music is not groundbreaking by any means but they have some intriguing and inventive ideas that adds to the overall dark theme of the album. Each song builds up the tension before the band let fly with an epic blast of fast-paced riffs.

Tracks such as Nothing Remains, Scapegoat and Host Body all bring their own style of punishment to the table as No Trust venture between Progressive Sludge and the more brutal Death Metal theatrics to give this album an extra sense of urgency and deadly precision. No Trust adds intriguing and creepy soundclips that only heightens the tension lingering in the air. The album is a tad short at 30 mins or so but it does its job in outlining what No Trust are all about. It could have done with a few more songs though if you're looking for a quick brutal fix within the Sludge/Death Metal field then you can't pass this album by.

The Cycle won't change your outlook on life but for an album that blends Sludge, Doom and Death Metal so brutally and effortlessly; this album is very hard to beat. The standout track has to be the final song - Wolves - as No Trust manages to include strands of psychedelic metal with traces of Thrash Metal to show you how creative they can actually be. I feel that if No Trust carries on with this style of music on their next album then these guys have the potential to release something special indeed. Until then, The Cycle is a superb and thought provoking album.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to the band for the promo. The Cycle will be available to buy from June 30th 2015.

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