“The heartiest slabs of sludge evoke a menagerie of crooked emotions. The cranking monotony of a repetitive riff, drenched in reverb and ambient noise, appeals to me at a most basic level. There’s something primal in the galloping crusty thump of a Conan track, something breathtakingly heart-wrenching in the western-tones of an Inter Arma track, something honest, stark and beautiful in the unique patterns of The Melvins. Each band balances creative flair with straight-forward aggression, though. When a voluptuous and extravagant song becomes too self-indulgent a switch to crushing straight-as-an-arrow slabcraft can drag it back into the dirty pits we crave.” Into the pits!
