Swamp Vulture Pick the Bones Clean
It’s been said before, and not just by me, that stoner rock is what happens when punk kids grow up. If that case isn’t yet proven, I humbly submit York, PA/Baltimore, MD sludge rockers Swamp Vulture, whose two-song SP (when was the last time you saw those initials for a release?), Hunter-Gatherer has just seen digital release via upstart label, Eleventh Key. The trio of bassist/vocalist Toddst, guitarist Sean and drummer Chris — you know they’re young because they don’t have last names yet — offer densely packed, mid-paced Sleep-style Gretsch and Gibson grooves with some angrier doom flourishes, by and large keeping their sound stripped down and staying away from too much ambiance or atmospheric chicanery.
If Hunter-Gatherer was a DIY cassingle — which, I admit, is how I’ve been thinking of it — side one would be devoted entirely to the title track, which wastes no time with flashy intros, instead starting with the main verse riff and pounding it into the ground. Sean‘s tone is not overly fuzzed, but thick nonetheless and Toddst‘s bass does much to beef up the Swamp Vulture approach. There are a few pace changes, well done, and a requisite slow, heavy-as-balls part, but “Hunter-Gatherer” mostly shows that if nothing else, these dudes have their influences in line: Sleep, Goatsnake, Melvins.
Side two comes in the form of “The Fight to Live,” a somewhat more diverse track with Toddst doing a decent Buzz Osborne shout over a slower central riff just climbed down from the Holy Mountain. Later into the track, Swamp Vulture get more aggressive, working in some screams and excellently-placed half-time cymbal work from Chris over what in a hardcore song would be the beat-the-crap-out-of-each-other part before crashing to its end. More than “Hunter-Gatherer,” which is strong in its own right, “The Fight to Live” shows the potential Swamp Vulture have to harness The Heavy in a unique way.
They’ve still got a ways to go before they get there, but with Hunter-Gatherer, they at least give the impression they’re on their way. For the $5 they want for the disc on their MySpace page or the whopping $4 Eleventh Key is asking for a download, you could do much worse.
Tags: Pennsylvania, Sludge, Swamp Vulture
