STATIC TENSIONS

I am pretty surprised to see this record listed on the prog archives. A dry as bones sludge metal album, there's nothing particularly progressive about it. And, with the exception of the first few tracks, there isn't all that much interesting or memorable about it either. The album kicks it all off with punk-rock-like fury that, mixed with a narly sludge metal guitar tone, really sets the expectation that this is going to be a promising record. But it never fully delivers.

The riffs, by the end of the record, are standard fare and the more melodic and emotional components kind of just feel souless (I know that's subjective but it is what it is). The recording of two sepatate drummers, one panned to the left, the other to right, is really just a gimmick and adds nothing to the music. This record is only worthwhile if you are already a big fan of sludge.