doom / post-rock
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When I received this album, I immediately knew this was going to be something right up my alley. With a band name like 'Sloth' and an album titled 'Slow As Sh*t', you should immediately know what this is going to be all about: doom metal. I remember other animal names being used in band names, like eagles, lions, tigers... but none of them seems so well-suited to describe the music as this one. So prepare for a very slow journey through the strange history of the ancient sloth.
Sloth is Blake Caverly, a multi-instrumentalist and experimentalist. The story behind this project is his discovery of an ancient sloth who died while has was protecting a number of Bongripper, Pallbearer and Boris albums. Upon removing the albums, something awoke inside the ancient animal and Blake Caverly would never be the same again. It's a bit of a comical story but believe me, strange things can indeed happen when you discover the three bands mentioned in it.
The album is filled with fuzzy riffs and post-rock resembling soundscapes. It constantly balances on the edge between both genres, borrowing the power from doom metal and the atmospheric aspect from post-rock and blending it into a number of anthem-like instrumentals. Here and there some other influences are incorporated like twin-guitar solos in 'Call Of The Sloth' and drony noise ambient in opener 'Meditate'. 'Nothing But Leaves' issues some vocals, reminding me of the industrial doom terror of Author and Punisher.
'Awaken That Which Lies Amongst The Trees' also issues some vocals, but this time nudging a bit towards depressive black metal, giving the whole a bleak atmosphere. But the biggest surprise is closer 'Smoke n' Sleep', a strange, electronic piece of drone-doom which in a way sounds as silly as the biography but in fact evolves into a otherworldly piece of music, combining IDM, doom, lo-fi 16bit music and dub. It really is something odd, especially for a crushing doom driven album like this one.
In all, 'Slow As Sh*t' is indeed a torpid album, sluggishly dragging itself through my speakers and leaving a thick layer of fuzz behind. The only thing I wonder is: where does it go from here for Sloth? Will he look for musicians and take this thing or the road? Or will he perform solo with this material, and if so, how? Will the project evolve further and become one of this strange projects in the margin of the underground music scene? Anyway, we need to keep an eye on this.
Serge
Sloth is Blake Caverly, a multi-instrumentalist and experimentalist. The story behind this project is his discovery of an ancient sloth who died while has was protecting a number of Bongripper, Pallbearer and Boris albums. Upon removing the albums, something awoke inside the ancient animal and Blake Caverly would never be the same again. It's a bit of a comical story but believe me, strange things can indeed happen when you discover the three bands mentioned in it.
The album is filled with fuzzy riffs and post-rock resembling soundscapes. It constantly balances on the edge between both genres, borrowing the power from doom metal and the atmospheric aspect from post-rock and blending it into a number of anthem-like instrumentals. Here and there some other influences are incorporated like twin-guitar solos in 'Call Of The Sloth' and drony noise ambient in opener 'Meditate'. 'Nothing But Leaves' issues some vocals, reminding me of the industrial doom terror of Author and Punisher.
'Awaken That Which Lies Amongst The Trees' also issues some vocals, but this time nudging a bit towards depressive black metal, giving the whole a bleak atmosphere. But the biggest surprise is closer 'Smoke n' Sleep', a strange, electronic piece of drone-doom which in a way sounds as silly as the biography but in fact evolves into a otherworldly piece of music, combining IDM, doom, lo-fi 16bit music and dub. It really is something odd, especially for a crushing doom driven album like this one.
In all, 'Slow As Sh*t' is indeed a torpid album, sluggishly dragging itself through my speakers and leaving a thick layer of fuzz behind. The only thing I wonder is: where does it go from here for Sloth? Will he look for musicians and take this thing or the road? Or will he perform solo with this material, and if so, how? Will the project evolve further and become one of this strange projects in the margin of the underground music scene? Anyway, we need to keep an eye on this.
Serge