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Duuude, Tapes! Mollusk and Stormbrewer Split

Posted in Duuude, Tapes! on June 3rd, 2013 by JJ Koczan

There are a couple things I really like about the new split tape between Ohio noisemakers Mollusk and Stormbrewer. Limited to 100 professionally pressed copies (50 yellow, 50 in a deep grey they call “smoke”), first of all, it finds the two acts partnered very well, working from a similar stylistic base while still retaining their own identities. In the case of Mollusk, who released a self-titled debut on cassette and CDR last year (above, right) in similar limited fashion, the growth is evident even before pressing play on the seven-minute track “Ashes.”

Upon hearing the self-titled (discussed here), my first frame of reference was to underappreciated Maryland bombast specialists Swarm of the Lotus, and since “Ashes” is longer at seven minutes than anything Mollusk brought to the table on their first release, perhaps that comparison is even more appropriate now than it was then. In any case, they nail a vicious tonal weight, crunching and slamming in an undulating groove that’s as heavy as it is angry, the dual vocals from the duo of guitarist/bassist Neal Hunter and drummer Chase Schleyer only adding to the sense of controlled chaos that pervades the song.

No break in their onslaught, but “Ashes” retains a strong sense of atmosphere as did a cut like “Endless Mountains” from the self-titled, and that’s brought even more into relief by the even-rawer fuckall of guitar/drum duo Stormbrewer — comprised of Gabe Almeda and Ronnie Miller, both of whom contribute vocals — more in line with the metallic noise born out of crossover hardcore and thrash, but still thoroughly modern in tone and aggressive in leading with the riffs. Both “Hammer Toes” and “Sabertooth” pull no punches, but show a doomed influence lurking under the surface, and for that, they stand that much better alongside Mollusk, and though the split is short — not much over 12 minutes — it is nonetheless able to showcase the progression at work in Mollusk and, in my case, give an intriguing first impression of Stormbrewer, whose Ghost on the Ocean Floor EP was released through Bastard Sloth Records in 2011.

On the fold in the tray card of the split is a white-ink silhouette of the state of Ohio, and in thinking of the noise, the sludge, the hardcore and the heavy rock that’s come out of the Buckeye State in years past, there’s little question why Stormbrewer and Mollusk would take pride in their Midwest lineage. I’ll look forward to hearing how these two acts are able next to contribute to it.

Mollusk, “Ashes” from Split w/ Stormbrewer (2013)

Mollusk on Thee Facebooks

Stormbrewer on Thee Facebooks

Bastard Sloth Records

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