PRIMITIVE WEAPONS — The Shadow Gallery (review)

PRIMITIVE WEAPONS — The Shadow Gallery album cover Album · 2012 · Hardcore Punk Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Time Signature
Good hunting...

Genre: sludge-core

When it comes to the more extreme end of rock music, New York – and especially Brooklyn – is probably primarily associated with the hardcore and crossover scenes and perhaps not so much with the more sludgy side of rock music. Nonetheless, there are bands that hail from Brooklyn, such as Primitive Weapons, whose music is just so incredibly sludgy that you'd expect them to have originated from the desert or swamps of the deep south.

Their 2012-album The Shadow Gallery definitely is heavy and sludgy without, admittedly, being as slow and tortured as with many other sludge acts. But the seven tracks on the album are no less oppressive than the slower sludge acts' average song is. The harsh yelled vocals, for instance, emanate a sense of both frustration and angst which, together with the band's use of repeated heavy riffs generate the same feel of introvert desperation that characterizes a lot of sludge metal. Just check tracks like the heavy 'Quitters Anthem', the aggressive 'The Death of Boredom', or the oddly melodic 'Big Chief'.

Repetition and crushingly heavy guitar riffage are central ingredients in the Primitive Weapons sound, and they are used to great effect in generating the above-mentioned sense of frustration. Another central element is the use of elements from noise rock, which – needless to say – fits perfectly into the overall picture of the album. Interestingly, the drums – while heavy – often take on a more organic feel becaue of the many fills that are used on some of the songs.

Overall, Primitive Weapons' The Shadow Gallery, with its 30 minutes of crunching sludge, is a lesson in the power of repetition and crushing heaviness, and any fan of shoegazing, but angry, sludge metal should definitely give it a listen.

(review originally posted at seaoftranquility.org)
Share this review
more

Review Comments

Post a public comment below | Send private message to the reviewer
Please login to post a shout
No shouts posted yet. Be the first member to do so above!

Review Index

Member Zone

Username:
Password:
Stay signed in

Metal Subgenres

Artists Alpha-index

MMA TOP 5 Metal ALBUMS

Rating by members, ranked by custom algorithm
Albums with 30 ratings and more
Master of Puppets Thrash Metal
METALLICA
Buy this album from our partners
Paranoid Heavy Metal
BLACK SABBATH
Buy this album from our partners
Moving Pictures Hard Rock
RUSH
Buy this album from our partners
Powerslave NWoBHM
IRON MAIDEN
Buy this album from our partners
Rising Heavy Metal
RAINBOW
Buy this album from our partners

New Metal Artists

New Metal Releases

The Goblin Sessions Heavy Metal
THEM
Buy this album from MMA partners
Tormenta De Arena Metalcore
VORAGO
Buy this album from MMA partners
Infinite Metalcore
FUTURE GHOST
Buy this album from MMA partners
Heretic Melodic Death Metal
SUNCINDER
Buy this album from MMA partners
The Skull Burned Wearing Hell Like A Life Vest As The Night Wept Mathcore
FRONTIERER
Buy this album from MMA partners
More new releases

New Metal Online Videos

OPETH`S Epic Headline Show at Bloodstock 2024 | YouTube Premiere | Full Set | August 9th, 2024
OPETH
666sharon666· 3 hours ago
Opeth '§4' Visualizer/Lyrics Video
OPETH
666sharon666· 3 hours ago
Future Ghost - Wolves (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Future Ghost - Nemesis Game (Official Music Video)
FUTURE GHOST
Bosh66· 1 day ago
Harrowed TwentyTenVideo
HARROWED
Bosh66· 3 days ago
More videos

New MMA Metal Forum Topics

More in the forums

New Site interactions

More...

Latest Metal News

members-submitted

More in the forums

Social Media

Follow us
Follow us on Twitter Become a Facebook fan RSS Feed