One key difference by my estimation between the first generation of Southern US sludge and the second is the lack of punk influence. Where bands like Eyehategod, Crowbar and Bozzov*en had more than a little hardcore in their sound, what seems to be more of the focus now in the genre is the slow rhythmic churn, the heavy, growled or screamed vocals and (perhaps this is the biggest difference between the two waves) a kind of artistic awareness of what they’re doing. Bands like Rwake, Inter Arma, haarp and now Virginian upstarts The Osedax subscribe to a new definition of sludge that takes just as much of its atmosphere from extreme metal as from the vaunted “slow southern steel” of its predecessors. On The Osedax’s hour-long self-released debut full-length, Delayed Response, the four-piece wind their way across eight mostly-extended tracks (all but two over seven minutes) and a sound that will come off as familiar to many who’ve kept up with the genre’s direction over the last several years, but also has subtle undertones of neo-progressive individuality that come across periodically in the tracks.

Delayed Response is a first album stylistically, but it’s worth noting that the production of the record itself – an area where so much sludge is lacking – is stellar here. Guitarist Scott Coldwell recorded and mixed the album at Linear Sound in Fredricksburg, Virginia (the town around which much second generation Virginian sludge has been based; see also VOG, Lord, etc.), and he does an excellent job bringing out the thickness in his own instrument and the bass of Mike Horn while still allowing Josh Albright’s vicious layers of growling to cut through without being overbearing. Albright is almost a part of the rhythm section, along with Horn and drummer Kevin Grevey, but his level of proficiency in the extreme end of vocalizing goes beyond what usually passes for screams in metal. Still abrasive, but accomplished, well-arranged and not necessarily as unipolar as they might seem on first listen, Albright’s throat is what ties The Osedax most to groups like the aforementioned New Orleans outfit haarp, but all across Delayed Response, there’s an energy to his performance and an abrasive vitality that, balanced as well in the mix as it is by Coldwell, makes it one of the album’s greatest strengths.

Coldwell’s guitars (because there are a couple here) also provide arguments in favor of The Osedax’s individuality. On earlier cuts like opener “The Purging” and “Reanamorata,” Coldwell transitions into Mastodon-style progressivism, with Grevey introducing a break on the latter track that could have come off a more thickly-toned Leviathan, his around-the-kit fills reminiscent of Brann Dailor’s frantic work both on that record and on Remission, which preceded. That’s not to say it’s entirely derivative, just that coupled with the reverbed acoustic guitar with driving distortion underneath and a quirkier, busier sound, the point of comparison is there. As Delayed Response develops, though, that side of The Osedax’s sound seems to disappear, and it’s the unbridled sludge heaviness that wins the day. Still, there’s room on the album for the 5:31 “Transient Progression,” which follows the more quickly-paced and apocalyptic “White Noise Transmission” and the adrenaline-high (again Coldwell blends acoustic and electric to an effect that only heightens the heaviness) “Intermittence” with a quiet, solo guitar break. Coldwell rings out echoing notes for a lengthy but welcome interlude, and I find on repeat listens that “Transient Progression” is one of my favorite moments on the whole of Delayed Response. Whatever instinct drove the band to include it is one they were right to follow.

The title-track starts with feedback and leads us back into the mire. Albright, who also knows where to sit back and let the music have the space it needs, makes the correct move in balancing his growls and screams here with Coldwell’s squibbly lead section. Delayed Response being almost entirely dark in its atmosphere and oppressive tonally, as time wears on, the album can get to feel like it’s a bit much to take in, but I can’t help but think that’s the idea in the first place. There’s something to be said for overwhelming the listener, and The Osedax definitely do that with their last three songs. “Dissonant Attenuation” is unrepentantly slow and muddy, and closer “Primary Signal” gets off with some heavy hits from Grevey and boasts one of the album’s best riffs. Albright goes full death metal growl and switches between that and screams in the verses, and the last two minutes, which are mostly ring-outs and periodic drum thuds and screams, are a fitting close to Delayed Response, which continues to show on its whole the formidable creativity at work in this “new” generation of sludge. They have a lot of work ahead of them in terms of distinguishing themselves, and the bigger takeaway from their debut is the heaviness and professional sound of it (as opposed to the songs themselves), but The Osedax are definitely on the right track to standing tall among the more extreme end of all things muddy and modern. An impressive debut.

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Tags: The Osedax, Unsigned bands, Virginia

This entry was posted on Monday, April 4th, 2011 at 11:30 am and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.