ALBUM PREMIERE: Wasted Theory put the hammer down on album #3 "Warlords of the New Electric"

Wasted Theory’s second release with Argonauta Records, after the ‘2017 edition’ CD re-release of “Defenders of the Riff,” displays a disturbingly sober vision of slammed down, heavy rock invaders. Completed in the spring of this year, “Warlords of the New Electric” was recorded, engineered, and mixed by Joseph Boldizar (Ruby The Hatchet, Ecstatic Vision, The Age of Truth)  at Retro City Studios in Philadelphia, PA.

Wasted Theory had the following to say about the record

"When we set out to write ‘Warlords of the New Electric’ we wanted to take the energy and enthusiasm of ‘Defenders of the Riff” and develop those vibes even further. In our opinion, this is the perfect companion to the last album. We didn’t want to put out the stereotypical third album where we start getting all experimental and bizarre. So, we did the exact opposite - we took our gritty rock n’ roll origins and pushed them even heavier into the material.

The riffs are harder, the fast stuff is faster and the doom stuff is doomier. This is the perfect album for those hot, sticky summer nights hanging out at your buddy’s BBQ bonfire and having way too much to drink. This album is very much a Wasted Theory album."

Argonauta will release “Warlords of the New Electric” worldwide this Friday  October 26th 2018.  The eight song, full album hammer strike will include Vinyl and CD formats, with Digital Download and today a couple days ahead of the release you can stream the record in full.  So turn in up and let your speakers die

Band info: facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Emerging doom masters Djinn And Miskatonic produce gold with "I, Zombie"

Formed in 2011, the journey to release their sophomore album hasn’t been without tribulation for Bengaluru, based doom metal quarter Djinn And Miskatonic.  Overcoming a break up following the release of their debut album “Forever in the Realm” in 2013 on then unknown label Transcending Obscurity Records , Djinn And Miskatonic would reform in 2014, emerging as part of the explosion of Indian metal bands.

Upon hearing the first meditative and shamanic like tones of new album "Even Gods Must Die' it is clear their sound was forged from the same riff foundry as Sabbath, Electric Wizard and Reverend Bizarre, indeed with nods to that trio in particularly, it should come as no surprise that Djinn And Miskatonic cultivate the same godly tones of their forbearers and deliver an album of down-tuned and molten smothering doom.

With a release date for "Even Gods Must Die' set for 10 January 2018 via Transcending Obscurity Records, today it give us great pleasure to be able to debut the dirge like and colossal track “I, Zombie” which with a mammoth run time of 15:36, has everything you could possibly need, if you like your doom, brooding, atmospheric and packed with variety.  Check it out below and the link you need to pre order/buy the album is  here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: R.I.P. - "Street Reaper"

By: Richard Maw

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 13/10/2017

Label: Riding Easy Records

I don't expect it to usurp the likes of “Born Too Late” or Pentagram “Relentless” in my list of best all time doom albums, but if you want a modern doom rock album with lots of attitude and overdrive, then this is one you should check out.

“Street Reaper “CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Unmarked Grave

2). Street Reaper

3). Mother Road

4). The Dark

5). The Other Side

6). Shadows Fool

7). Brimstone

8). The Cross

9). The Casket

10). Die in Vain

The Review:

Portland's R.I.P. unleashed their debut on an unsuspecting public back in 2016. Since then, the press seem to have latched on to the quartet's “street doom” label as something new in the doom sphere. Truthfully, it is not. Street doom is as old as Saint Vitus and The Obsessed... maybe even as old as Sabbath! Any doom head knows the difference- fantasy vs reality, heroes vs heroin and so on.  Regardless of what genre tag has been ascribed, “In The Wind” was an enjoyable slice of Saint Vitus meeting Fu Manchu. With “Street Reaper”, the band have progressed their sound on by focussing it and tightening up the arrangements.

The one minor criticism I levelled at their debut was that it was a little on the long side. Well, the ten tracks here have solved that problem and the band have really delivered a muscular set of songs. Once again, the influences are there: Pentagram, The Stooges, Saint Vitus, Sabbath... and the aforementioned Fu Manchu. The spectre of the Californian state looms large in the sound and vibe, and gives the band a little something extra, a little uniqueness. A little of the desert and a little of the imagery shown on the album cover- four hirsute dudes rolling in a low-rider. It is clear that these guys are not from Barnsley, that's for sure!

The music is direct and punchy, featuring over-driven bass and fuzzed up guitars again. The riffs are simple and groovy and this really does have the feel of street level music. From the opening chug of “Unmarked Grave”, through the title track and beyond; this will get your head nodding. As noted first time around, it is great to hear a band with a singer and actual riffs. This isn't about playing really slow or being massively heavy but is instead more about the vibe and the flow of the record. There are nods to the gods via instrumental interludes like “The Cross”, grooving slabs of riffage such as “Shadows Folds” and even some more melodic playing here and there (the intro of “The Dark”, for instance, and the closing “Die in Vain”).

The wheel is not being reinvented here, but that isn't the point. R.I.P. bring a slightly more youthful swagger to the game- it's welcome as most of the really big players are knocking on a  bit now, to say the least. By the time of the seventh track “The Casket”, you will have made up your mind about the album. Personally, I like it. I don't expect it to usurp the likes of “Born Too Late” or Pentagram “Relentless” in my list of best all time doom albums, but if you want a modern doom rock album with lots of attitude and overdrive, then this is one you should check out.

With the last three tracks clocking in at around four and a half minutes apiece, the band close the show consistently, albeit using different tempos and approaches as they go- relatively up tempo, slower dinosaur riffing and melodic- respectively. The yowling vocals are more Reagers than Wino, the sound is never less or more than over-driven and fuzzy and the whole thing works well. It is an improvement on their debut and sets the band up very well for album number three and a possible rise through the ranks of doom. When are they coming to the UK?!

“Street Reaper” is available here

Band info:  Facebook ||Instagram || Bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Iron Monkey, "9-13"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 20/10/2017

Label: Relapse Records

"9-13" offers a shredding sludge attack and is a violent rejoinder of why Iron Monkey got its reputation as a doom/sludge vanguard. All these years later, Iron Monkey remains gritty and uncompromising. Predictions for a return were invariably high. "9-13" does not blow those expectations out of the water. Nor does Iron Monkey disappoint. For that, there's much to smile about.

“9-13” CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Crown of Electrodes

2. OmegaMangler           

3. 9-13

4. Toadcrucifier - R.I.P.PER

5. Destroyer

6. Mortarhex

7. The Rope

8. Doomsday Impulse Multiplier

9. Moreland St. Hammervortex

The Review:

Sterling though it is, Iron Monkey has a name circulated mostly through lore. Its 1996 EP and 1998 full-length, honestly, came out when a fair number of metal fans were children. Of those consciously watching sludge metal at the time, scores of acts have since surpassed Iron Monkey and its sparse output. Yet the notoriety of the band has lingered. Its brash and unfiltered metal through the lungs of vocalist Johnny Morrow was, for many, that blending of punk and metal that ensembles like Crass or 45 Grave were for fans in respective decades previous. Not that the UK crew gained those levels of recognition, or are anywhere the same, but you get the idea: something with an appeal that set it apart from others. After Iron Monkey faded with the untimely death of Morrow in 2002, you could assume the boys from Nottingham would be little more than a faded memory or trivia at a punk club's quiz night.

Not so fast.

Following a nearly 20-year break hastened by the death of its lead singer, Iron Monkey return to take up the accolades the group never received in its heyday. Implausible though that comeback might be its new release, "9-13," rolls up to make a claim for the throne.

Returns like this can be a controversial business at times. Here, founding members Jim Rushby, on guitars and vocal duties, and bassist Steve Watson are back in place, but original drummer Justin Greaves has bowed out. The new Iron Monkey has opted to go it as a trio, replacing Greaves with Scott Briggs, one of the former drummers of Bristol hardcore legends Chaos UK. No Greaves and no original singer may prompt some gnashing of teeth from the outset. Yet having Bushby and Watson, who were nevertheless architects of the band's grimy sludge metal clatter, may keep you curious enough to give "9-13" your full attention.

With the opener, "Crown of Electrodes," you are left with the clear impression that Iron Monkey is rejoining us largely as a punk act. No bones about it that there's plenty of sludge and grind in this corybantic gruel. Still, in what could be Briggs' influence or a new direction decades on, there is irrefutably a hardcore tension in the All Pigs Must Die vein here. Some might criticize Iron Monkey for this or the vocals, which tend to be an echo of Morrow. However, all things change and, to tell the truth, this may be the first real introduction to Iron Monkey a lot of people have had. You can judge this on the strength of "9-13" alone and step away gratified.

There are a few near missteps. "Toadcrucifier - R.I.P.PER" opens with 30 seconds of pointless guitar feedback – although feedback starting "The Rope" is equally unlistenable. Fortunately enough, Iron Monkey makes up for it by delivering a crushing cut that pours on the aggression. The title selection before it uses the same feedback affectation, but similarly the trio redeems itself by serving up a whip tight track of metal-infused punk. In fact, the guitar feedback bit is used on several more songs; it can be cute for the new high school metal band, but gives "9-13" an 'out of ideas' vibe that is unnecessary. In fact, Iron Monkey's layoff has not left members bereft of passion or ideas. The group feels potent and ready to meet both new fans and skeptics. You just wish these small things did not detract from such a dexterous and forceful performance.

"9-13" offers plenty for veteran fans, such as "Doomsday Impulse Multiplier," a shredding sludge attack and the closing, "Moreland St. Hammervortex," which is a violent rejoinder of why Iron Monkey got its reputation as a doom/sludge vanguard. All these years later, Iron Monkey remains gritty and uncompromising. Predictions for a return were invariably high. "9-13" does not blow those expectations out of the water. Nor does Iron Monkey disappoint. For that, there's much to smile about.

"9-13" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

TRACK PREMIERE: Succumb to the beautiful devastation that is Catapult The Dead

Catapult The Dead is a sextet from Oakland, they have been together for around 5 years, playing the style of music which could be broadly described as atmospheric doom.  Thematically their debut full length, ‘All is Sorrow’ released in 2014, felt very cinematic and is very layered production wise, driven as you’d expect from a massive sounding guitar tone, but what felt quite unique is the use of keyboard.  Indeed it is the use of keys which made the band feel truly unique, giving their music a dynamic appeal. Much like the movie The Matrix, no one can really be told what is, you have to see it for yourself. In fact if you substituted Catapult the Dead for the Matrix in that quote, it quite accurately summarized their debut album

What Catapult the Dead have managed to do in their short tenure, is to produce progressive sounding doom, oppressively heavy but never idle, in the sense that it never seems to repeat singular repetitious phrases of music.  Their music is stylistically cinematic because it feels typical of how films are made, like there is one continuous story to be told, and it is always moving forward, evoking a sense that their music is a narrative to some macabre Lovercraftian tale. I feel Catapult the Dead are innovators and perhaps one of the best bands no one seems to know about, but that is about to change with the release of their  spectacular  new album “A Universal Emptiness”  released on 15 November 2017 via Doom Stew Records, and we’re stoked to be able to premiere a brand new track from the album which you stream in full below.  Preorders of the album are available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: 71TONMAN - "Earthwreck"

By: Chris Bull

Album Type: Full length

Date Released: 08/09/2017

Label: Black Bow Records

 71TONMAN  absolutely bludgeon the listener with hammer blows of relentless doom

“Earthwreck” CD//DD track listing

1. Lifeless

2. Negative

3. Phobia

4). Zero

5). Torment

6). Spiral

The Review:

Subtlety isn't something usually associated with sludge/doom, realistically, why should it? Poland's 71TONMAN, the latest to signing for Jon Davis' Black Bow Records, show no sign of straying from the well trodden path with 'Earthwreck'.

'Lifeless' sees 71TONMAN let you take a deep breath before absolutely bludgeoning with hammer blows of relentless doom. The death growl vocals make the songs reminiscent of Winter but have more in common with the likes of Dismember and Entombed with the way they echo into the psyche. 'Negative' has more to offer melodically than most doom bands do on entire albums, without losing the malicious, pummeling heaviness. 'Phobia' toys with the sensibilities of the traditional doom fan; this is extreme metal chump, save your talk of pentatonic scales for the millions of Kyuss/Church Of Misery rip offs! The sheer weight of the track makes you hyper aware of gravity and just when you think you can nod your head to the groove, they mangle the formula and have you gurning with glee.

'Zero' offers brief respite as the industrial noise is penetrated by clean guitars and syncopated drums before going whole hog with devastating riffs. 'Torment' makes great use of atmosphere to season the heaviness and 'Spiral' chops at your ear drums with its tremelo picking before smashing the weighty yet wonderfully catchy, riffs. Excellent stuff.

I don't like to write negative points about bands, and I'm not going to here, my only mild criticism would be that with 6 songs lasting 9 minutes each, the slog can be difficult to manage. Luckily there are plenty of intricacies throughout to keep your attention. I had the fortune of playing with these guys in Warsaw a few weeks back and I can confirm that they absolutely slay. A gem of a release.

“Earthwreck” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

REVIEW: Merchant - "Beneath" (EP)

By: Andre Almaraz

Album Type: EP

Date Released: 12/05/2017

Label: Independent |

Black Bow Records

If you’re a fan of heavy sludge, doom, and death/doom, I don’t see how you could possibly not dig this album. The production is amazing and the tone is ultra-heavy. The drums pound mercilessly, the bass hits like a 50 pound maul, and the vocals pull it all together perfectly. Give this a listen now.

“Beneath” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Guile As A Vice

2). Succumbing

The Review:

Up for review here is “Beneath,” the new 2017 album by Melbourne, Australia’s Merchant, which is brought to us by in part (digitally) by the mighty Black Bow Records. The album consists of only two tracks, but each one is almost fifteen minutes in length so rest assured that there is no skimping on the sludge soaked riffage that lies within the recording.

The album opens with the appropriately titled “Guile As A Vice,” which begins with some chattering feedback and then quickly gives way to a solitary guitar strumming some somber yet powerful chords. Before long, the drums and bass kick in and all is well with the world as the syrupy groove grabs a hold of your soul and moves your bones in agreeable unison to the soothing sounds….

But then suddenly, after we’ve grooved out for about 5 minutes, the mood changes, the vocals chime in, and just like that, things aren’t so smooth and syrupy any longer. Now is the time when the vicious vocals spew forth their venom all over our speakers like a sludge bomb going off in our faces and coating our remains in a cryptic slurry. The track surges and then slows until we are taken by force into a lumbering, crawling  pace. Drums pound and vocals wail away as duress and despair are the feelings evoked from here on out by the rhythmic repetition and droning guitars which set the tone for this ungodly apocalypse. As the song comes to an abrupt end, we are left feeling as if a great burden has been lifted from our chests.

Enter track two; “Succumbing,” which indeed, I feel as if we already have. Havoc, hatred, and hopelessness pound us into the ground from the opening blast. This song does not care to spend any time easing us into the assault as was the modus operandi of the first one. Again, tempos ebb and flow while never losing sight of their groove; an admirable feat of musical dynamics. Billowing clouds of guitars waft over us like we’re drowning in a sea of sanguine serenity. We have no choice but the let the waves wash over us and pull us under the swirling tide. After almost ten minutes, the barrage gradually slows to the bitter end as amplifier hum and whirling feedback drift us out into the eerie unknown.

If you’re a fan of heavy sludge, doom, and death/doom, I don’t see how you could possibly not dig this album. The production is amazing and the tone is ultra-heavy. The drums pound mercilessly, the bass hits like a 50 pound maul, and the vocals pull it all together perfectly. Give this a listen now.

“Beneath” is available on CD/LP here and digitally here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook  

ALBUM REVIEW & FULL STREAM: Ledge - "Cold Hard Concrete"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 25/08/ 2017

Label: Translation Loss Records

“Cold Hard Concrete" is that uneasy masterpiece you will value even more by year's end.

"Cold Hard Concrete" CD//DD//LP track listing:

1. Through Your Skull

2. Blacked Out

3. You Know Who You Are

4. Stalk Your Enemies

5. Disappearing God

6. Fuck Yourself

7. Last Shred of Hope

8. Condemned

The Review:

Metal music has had, over the years, many solo projects, intentional or less so as the bands lived on. Sometimes these projects can be quite divine, because they carry forward an artist's unique musical vision. Other times, you wonder how much it can be a self-indulgent endeavor or vanity plate weighed down by one musician's inability to work with others or compromise for the sake of art. Who of us has not witnessed a flabby presentation or two?

When it comes to Ledge, though, the debut full-length is much more of the former rather than the latter.

Ledge has been a prolific act so far, with a demo and a split LP with the band Disrotted both released within the last year. John Hoffman's one-man extreme music escapade merges doom, hardcore and traditional death metal in an eight-song package that convincingly stands out from the crowd. Much of that distinction is simply due to Hoffman's style. He's held the microphone for the likes of hardcore outfit Spine and grindcore act Weekend Nachos. In fact, Hoffman's body of work has always been quite original, with black metal and punk influences throughout. When you check out these previous performers, you will notice immediately Hoffman's copious contributions. Ledge is seemingly an outgrowth of the sort of creative output that requires enough room to put it all out there. This time around, Hoffman is the boss of everything, covering bass, drums and vocals. The result is a bruising musical trip certain to exceed your hopes for this stylish premiere.

On top of Hoffman's on-mic performance, "Cold Hard Concrete" stands out for a few different reasons. His arrangement of this full-length, sans extra musicians, is well done and pairs tracks stunningly. For instance, "Blacked Out" rampages at you from the start, only to grind to a sludge, then seguing powerfully into "You Know Who You Are." Hoffman's ravenous lyrics on "Stalk Your Enemies" find fellow travelers in the themes that come up in "Disappearing God." As you reach the doom-laden "Last Shred of Hope" and the doom/death metal-tinged closing song, "Condemned," it is hard not to appreciate how Hoffman composed cuts to build on moods. Bass and drums set the apprehensive body from whence Hoffman's words lash out. "Cold Hard Concrete" is that uneasy masterpiece you will value even more by year's end.  Check out the album in full below.  

"Cold Hard Concrete" is available here

Band info: bandcamp

ALBUM REVIEW: Atriarch - "Dead As Truth"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 11/08/2017

Label: Relapse Records

There is so much to enjoy about the new Atriarch release. You have heavier cuts like "Dead" and "Devolver" to mix among the more pensive songs. The songwriting is superior. And, best of all, you have a talented group back for a release that is sure to remind you why you enjoyed its brutal sound when they debuted.

“Dead As Truth” CD//DD//LP track listing

1. Inferno

2. Dead

3. Devolver

4. Void

5. Repent

6. Hopeless

The Review:

Atriarch are one of those bands that cuts across a ton of subgenres. For many outfits, that can go lots of ways, for better or worse. There are more than a few examples of times this does not work. Too many metal performers trying to be too much to too many people, and it can be exasperating. Similarly, in this Portland-based group, you can hear hard rock, gothic, post-punk, black metal and doom, but it is altogether better than all that sounds.

On their fourth full-length recording, "Dead As Truth," Atriarch does so famously because its members build upon a series of well-received releases with a sound that, for all it is advertised as, does the core parts so remarkably.

Atriarch bills itself as classic death rock, but there is a good chance you will hear tinges of old-school death metal here. From haunting singing to touches of dirge and, in truth, a lot of heavy, sludgy guitar, you will catch the screams of some of death metal's originators in Atriarch's blast. Instead of the screeching, indecipherable C-list material you can find anywhere, though, Atriarch paints some ghastly images without the nonsensical bombast. "Dead As Truth" continues the growth of the group's sound and, in many ways, makes it far more intimidating because it is more cerebral than most.

Fans of the band's past recordings may believe this new package sounds toned down compared to past collections. Such an observation is largely true, but rather than chill, this one feels like a more sophisticated entry. The restraint you hear from the opener, "Inferno," to the closer, "Hopeless," is used to support savage storytelling. "Void" taps a similar lyrical delivery, until it unleashes the full bore of anguish on the listener.

There is so much to enjoy about the new Atriarch release. You have heavier cuts like "Dead" and "Devolver" to mix among the more pensive songs. The songwriting is superior. And, best of all, you have a talented group back for a release that is sure to remind you why you enjoyed its brutal sound when they debuted.

"Dead As Truth" is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

EXCLUSIVE ALBUM STREAM & REVIEW: Weed Demon - "Astrological Passages"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full-length

Date Released: 18/08/2017

Label: Dissonant Society

Weed Demon is quite willing to show they can do a diverse attack that goes beyond a Melvins-ish crunch. It can definitely throttle you with heavy, sludged out guitars and drums. Yet, as you find on "Primordial Genocide" and elsewhere, Weed Demon can go from blasting to burrowing with its arrangements, zipping from fast to slow, metal to a variation on math rock, smoothly.

"Astrological Passages “CS//CD//DD "track listing

1. Astrological Passages

2. Primordial Genocide

3. Sigil of The Black Moon

4. Dominion of Oblivion

5. Jettisoned

The Review:

A band who call themselves Weed Demon and does five songs that clock out at 50 minutes pretty much says all you need to know about it being a stoner metal clique, doesn't it? Not completely. The Columbus, Ohio troupe has, in truth, a lot more in store for you.

Stoner metal has and has previously had many great acts as part of its history. Though the mainstream probably could not tell the difference between stoner and several other variations of doom, discriminating listeners know it when they hear it. Weed Demon flies the flag in its name and other venues. It certainly has other influences at its base.

On their debut full-length, a follow up to their 2015 EP, Weed Demon is quite willing to show they can do a diverse attack that goes beyond a Melvins-ish crunch. It can definitely throttle you with heavy, sludged out guitars and drums. Yet, as you find on "Primordial Genocide" and elsewhere, Weed Demon can go from blasting to burrowing with its arrangements, zipping from fast to slow, metal to a variation on math rock, smoothly. "Sigil of the Black Moon" kicks off as if it is your standard issue doom cut, but evolves into capacious blues rock, then plunges you into deep sludge. Where their first recording felt straightforward and perhaps not as adventurous, Weed Demon seems more confident in their own skin, with members gutsy in their willingness to take songs out to the farther reaches of your expectations.

The vocal style is just as varied, wherein a song like "Dominion of Oblivion" conveys almost a kind of funeral doom in its chanting verbalization. Rarely do you find stoner and funeral cross paths, so this bridge of the song is fresh. The music grows more insistent as it goes on, as does the vocal. That song is followed by "Jettisoned," a sprawling 12-minute-plus track to wrap up the recording. With its harmonica accents, rockabilly sort of segueway and long instrumental stretches, the cut seems aimed at, as the group says, to smoke and just jam. However, the overall effort here is far superior to background music. And Weed Demon, regardless of its name, is hardly your average stoner metal group.

"Astrological Passages" is available to preorder/buy on CS here and CD//digital here.  The album is official out on the 18/8/2017, but you can stream it exclusively in full below.

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Mudbath - "Brine Pool"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 2/05/2017

Label: Saka Čost| GPS Prod|

Troffea Records Third-I-Rex |

Grains of Sand Records

While firmly a doom metal group, Mudbath is not afraid to introduce different elements. With a shrieking vocal approach reminiscent of black metal and flourishes you might otherwise associate with drone, Mudbath manages to make it work.

“Brine Pool” CD//DD//LP track listing:

               

1. Burn Brighter

2. End Up Cold

3. Seventh Circle

4. Zone Theory

5. Rejuvenate

6. Fire

The Review:

Doom metal has so many derivatives in part because it has a landscape open to broad interpretations. The morass of guitar, churn of a bass and crack from a drum kit can be shaped to head off in many directions. Thus you see artists like Paradise Lost, Isis, Sunn O))) and many more have their paths illuminated by doom as a foundation, only to establish fully formed reverberations distinct from their progenitor. This happening can be simultaneously joyful and infuriating, exciting or repulsive. You can fill in your own blanks as to who fits the positive as well as the negative ends of that spectrum.

France’s Mudbath is, likely for most listeners, going to be on the positive end.

Now on their third release, the foursome debuted in 2012 with an EP, followed by a 2015 full-length recording and now "Brine Pool," their 2017 presentation. While firmly a doom metal group, Mudbath is not afraid to introduce different elements. With a shrieking vocal approach reminiscent of black metal and flourishes you might otherwise associate with drone, Mudbath manages to make it work.

"Brine Pool" packs the most punch on songs like "Seventh Circle," a reference to Dante’s “Inferno”. There, Dante and Virgil discover the place in Hell intended to punish the violent, from the war-makers to the suicides to the blasphemers and the sodomites. Literary scholars have for decades plumbed the Inferno’s imagery, including its host of gruesome penalties in the Seventh Circle of Hell. It is fitting that this cut is at right about the release’s middle, because it feels like a climax of the despair and foreboding you hear from start to finish. You can almost feel as if the vocals came straight from pools of boiling blood Dante once imagined, or from Pholus, among the Seventh Circle’s patrolling centaurs, himself.

Whereas "Red Desert Orgy," their first release, had at many moments a slower, more raw build, and their "Corrado Zeller" sophomore had implications of dirge, Mudbath’s latest recording finds an intriguing merger of its past and present. The blues influences you might have heard from the band before remain strong on songs like "Fire" and elsewhere. The opening cut "End Up Cold" also launches with that bluesy seethe. Its crescendo, though, suggests a new maturity. The vocals by Mika, Flo and Luke jump out at you methodically. The bass and electronic touches added by Marco enhance the feeling of dread.

Although the songs still contain the rawness of old, there is an evolution afoot for Mudbath. Maybe the group, which had lineup changes in 2013, is just more comfortable in its own skin (insert death metal joke here). Or maybe it’s simply the camaraderie that suddenly blossoms in a new way after many live shows and studio time together. Whatever it is, "Brine Pool" marks an invigorating chapter for the French quartet. One has to be fascinated to see what comes next.

"Brine Pool" is available to buy here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook