Get up. Get on up. Stay on the scene. “Which scene?” I hear you cry. Well gentle reader that would be the filthy, riff filled sludgecore scene – cos that is what these fellas from Lille are offering.
Starting life in 2012 this is the bands second release and one that fans of Hang the Bastard and Wall of Kowloon would be foolish to ignore.
Opening with a wail of feedback and thunderous drums the title track drops into a hypnotic swaying groove with high pitched rasped vocals. The rhythm section leads the way on this one veering in various directions and at varying pace with the riffs and vocals hanging on for dear life. I am a big fan of rasped vocals and Yves who provides them (alongside half the guitar duties that he shares with JB) gives Love Sex Machine a Blackened feel amongst the sludge and heaviness.
Xavier and Guillaume – Drums and bass respectively keep the boat in the water for the 8 tracks on offer here and allow Yves and JB a chance to stand up ahead on the prow of the metaphorical ship throwing the horns and swearing at other sailors. “Drone Syndrome” bludgeons the ear drums in a delightful way with an industrial yet organic groove and “Black Mountain” seems to rise up like ..well a black mountain . These French guys seem to have got the epic sound sown to a tee and manage to weave their sonic tales in under 6 minutes which is a rarity in rock and metal these days.
“Aujesky” has a raw Black metal feel to it – not talking blast beats and wasp in a jar, more frost bitten atmosphere and graven riffs . This sounds about as far from NOLA as one can get. Then the big bass rumbles in like a fucking tank!!!!! Devolution and Atrocity offer more welcome punishment and the tank tracks continue to pulverise my limbs and ears. I know I shouldn’t be but I find myself making the metal claw- squeezing oranges with a massive grin on my face whilst listening to these guys. Hopefully they take it as the compliment that is meant .
“Infernal Spiral” – the penultimate track is a spiky, jerky , angular affair showing some progressive elements . The trouble is, I should be concentrating on this track but I can’t stop looking at what is coming next. “Silent Duck” finishes this album. Now when I was a kid Lawnmower Deth released their infamous and wonderful split with Metal Duck and I loved it. There is something about the Duck in metal that creates a glorious juxtaposition that tickles me. Canard to put certain creatures into sludge tracks I am sure (sorry – try the soup).
Well I am writing to trading standards cos this Duck ain’t silent. Anything but. A colossal riff and a drum beat to make the slaves row faster urge Yves into a more guttural roar than the preceeding tracks. This is a towering wall of sludge that engulfs the ship and leaves all spluttering in its wake.
Asexual Anger is an 8 track collection of blackened sludge that is at the same time uplifting and bludgeoning. Stick on a life jacket and jump aboard.
(7/10 Matt Mason)
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