Time Signature
Anxiety puke...
Genre: sludge metal
The Canadian sludgesters in Bison B.C. are back with their third album Lovelessness, which they released in october 2012.
Neatly finding a balance between the doomy side and the hardcore side to sludge metal, Bison B.C. make use of both crushingly heavy passages, often with a slight Black Sabbath-esque feel to them, with aggressive and simple hardcore punk-styled riffs (as in 'Clozapine Dream' and the first part of 'Anxiety Puke/Lovelessness') and some of which have a primitive thrash feel to them (as in the more aggressive passages of 'An Old Friend'). A particulary interesting feature is the use of melodic figures that are built into some of the riffs, which makes one think of melodic doom metal – which we hear in the second part of 'Anxiety Puke / Lovelessness'. The vocals are aggressive and suit the roughness of the music itself quite well, but the harshness of the vocals also contribute to a slight sense of monotony.
In all, Lovelessness is a fine sludge album, but probably one that appeals more to hardcore fans of the genre than to casual listeners. So, if you are a real sludgehead, do give this album a listen or two.
(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)