If this is the kind of hateful madness that being in a suckfest band like Five Pointe O inspires, then maybe those one-time Roadrunner Records commerce rock non-priorities served a purpose after all. Bassist Sean Pavey leaves his common denominator past behind him with his new four-piece, Blackbeard, making up for lost time with nasty sludge and sandpaper-grade audio abrasion on the inevitable self-released EP, That’s Why They Call it Dying…, and though I’m not one for ending titles with ellipses, two minutes into opener “Breath of Life/Life’s End” and any and all punctuational grievances are moot. All that’s left is heavy.

You’ll note the part above where it says “sludge.” The thing about that is sludge is, by and large, pretty predictable when it comes to metallic subgenres. It’s usually slow, thick, underproduced and topped off with visceral screams. On that level, these Joliet, Illinois, locals don’t disappoint. That’s Why They Call it Dying… varies the pace of its attack, but the attack is still basically in line with expectation. Doesn’t take away from the immediacy of the songs or the effectiveness of the slowed-down mosh riffs of “Kidney Stoned” or “The Peasant Song,” the latter of which shows a Pantera influence not only in Robert Hughes‘ throat-stinging vocals, but also in the riffs of guitarist John Foster and the alternate time kept by drummer Dan Snodgrass. For his part, Pavey is appropriately rumbling throughout, coming to the surface to introduce a masterful Sleep riff on “The Reckoning” before diving back under the surface of the song to make room for the guitar.

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