Sunday 17 February 2013

USNEA - S/T Album Review

Usnea cover art

Usnea is a Sludge/Doom Metal Band from USA

The members are:

Zeke Rogers - drums
Joel Williams - bass & vocals
Johhny Lovingood - guitar
Justin Cory - guitar & vocals

Usnea is a band drenched in brutal thick Sludge Metal Riffs melded together with epic Funeral Doom atmospherics running through out their music.

Their stunning S/T debut album is a masterclass of sheer brutality from start to finish. It might start like an Atmospheric Sludge album but wait until the darker moments appear aided along by terrifying vocals to match.

The album has four tracks running for an epic 55 minutes that will thrill you from the first minute or have you running into the hills. This is one of the hardest hitting, loudest and heaviest releases I have heard in 2013. The tracks range from 10 mins to 17 mins in length so you will be in for a long and frightening ride when listening to the album.

I am not going to do a song-by-song review, as this album needs to be heard in one full setting. Usnea don’t hold back with the brutal onslaught of riffs on show. There are no light moments at all on this album. Everything about this album is bleak from the word go. Sure there are plenty of heavy sludge riffage on show but it’s most the most brutal and violent kind of sludge riffage. With pitch-perfect nightmarish vocals to match.

Imagine Neurosis at their most darkest. Well times that by a 1000 and you would still not get close to the tone and density of this brilliant album. Only a few albums have shaken Sludgelord team to the core with brutal and terrifying riffs. Primitive Man’s amazing debut album Scorn and now Usnea.

Both albums are slightly different in tone but they are both equally powerful examples of how scary Sludge Metal can actually be. I can’t say, what my fave track is as the album has too many brilliant moments to mention on different songs. This album is more of an experience and one you should listen to through the very end.

By then Usnea will have changed your perspective on how heavy Sludge Metal can be. Usnea have another powerful weapon helping them to scare the heck out of the listeners. And that is Funeral Doom. Now I am not been the biggest fan of Funeral Doom music but Usnea have pulled it off brilliantly. It really adds to the tone of their music. It gives the album a life of its own. Something evil is lurking in the midst and Usnea know when to crank up the tension to make sure your not feeling comfortable for one second.

Hopefully I have done this great album justice with my review. But if I haven’t then that is a good thing, as you need to experience this album for yourself. Just be prepared for Usnea to scare the living daylights out of you.

This is an album that is a firm favourite amongst the Sludgelord Team and it will be one of yours as well.

Brilliant and Highly Recommended.

You can buy Physical and Digital Releases from Usnea BandCamp Page. Even on Vinyl from Orca Wolf Records as well, if you think you have the stomach for it.

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