Sourvein

It must be difficult for bands in the sludge metal game stand out from one another. Everyone’s got the same huge amps. Everyone’s got the same monster guitar tone. Everyone’s on the same drugs, the burnouts from which have left everyone too fatigued to play anything faster than mid-tempo. Everyone has that oddly-conceived but still widely popular shrieking that makes it sound as if the vocalists are gargling gravel.

How does a band of this sort distance itself from the pack? Eyehategod took the very minimal spotlight available to this genre twenty years ago, so surely the logical step from here is to evolve, right?

Wrong, says Sourvein. Their 2008 release, an EP titled Ghetto Angel, is yet another page added to their sludge-purist manifesto, the entirety of which consists of efficient riffing and a truly crushing sound. Unfortunately, if you’ve heard these guys before, you’ve heard this EP already. Each Sourvein release distinguishes itself only by the fact that the production gets a little warmer each time, meaning that each release sounds slightly heavier than the last, though not necessarily better.

Sourvein are great compilation material and probably put on a killer show, but this release is rather forgettable.

6.6 / 10 — Mario