DARK AGES

I ordered Bison B.C.'s Dark Ages shortly after it was released, hoping for something awesome. I'm usually a fan of large furry animals. When it comes to bands with this type of sound ("stoner metal", "sludge metal") I try to never compare them to Mastodon, because that seems to be what people normally do, and I don't think that is fair at all. Honestly, this album doesn't sound like Mastodon anyway, which is great.

The album started with the music of weeping horns, but the initial sadness doesn't last for long; soon, the anger kicks in. Heavy riffs, heavy vocals, you know the drill. I generally find bands with this sound enjoyable, even on a non-progressive basis. This album, however, does have progressive tendencies. The songs on this album tend to move through different styles of playing (usually staying between styles of sludgy metal and punk) and each track has a motif that occurs and reoccurs with slight variation, tempo changes, and also the occasional acoustic guitar playing. But that's really about as progressive as this music gets. There isn't much in the way of musical technicality on this album. It's fairly straight forward sludge metal with a few extra elements thrown in, but nothing too stand-out. Definitely better than most non- progressive metal bands, though.

So, basically, what you're getting here is straight-forward sludge metal with a few extra elements that are generally uncommon in sludge metal. If you're into the tech metal kind of stuff, then this definitely won't suit you. If you like sludge metal, then you'll probably enjoy this. This album sounds like a slightly more intelligent version of any High On Fire album. If that sounds good, then definitely check this out. I certainly enjoy it.