Seethe Griever- Nausea; Ad Nauseam

 I actually meant to get this up last week but, again, life gets in the way. So, you should get 2 reviews this week. Hooray for you! Anyway onto the review.

"Listen to Grief". 

This is listed on the band's Bandcamp page in the bio. An exhortation, if you will. But also an obvious statement of intent. and possibly even a threat. 

I discovered Sludgecore in 1993 but had no idea what I was listening to until 1994 when I picked up "Grief- Come To Grief". Now, I'm aware none of the bands  really wanted the label. That tends to be the way with innovators but I think its one of the few times a reviewer labeled a style of music independent of bands desires correctly. These bands were obviously heavier than what most were calling "Doom" at the time and, unlike Death/doom, were also clearly more influenced by hardcore than they were by metal. 

When I listened to "Come To Grief", I instantly fell in love. I dove headfirst into this world of dark, slow and depressive music with no hesitation. I was ravenously devouring anything released by Slap-a-Ham, Theologian and Pessimiser records, especially Pessimiser. That was my most favorite label at the time. I never really looked back with the exception of "Sludge" losing all the dark and heavy parts but that was later.

This brings us to this EP.  It was released last year but I am only now hearing it. And, man, does this project LOVE Grief. That's not a knock on it at all. It does a great job of capturing mid 90's sludge. The 11 minute opener, Nausea; Ad Nauseam, slowly rolls over you like a Sherman tank, all nastiness and ill intent. "He Was Still Teething" opens with a harrowing sample of a girl describing nearly skinning herself while cutting then plods into a slow, brutal track whose title implies horrific possibilities. "Hunted Down" shows a slightly experimental side in the sense that the vocalist uses clean vocals, which work very well on that track, that sometimes duet with the growl normally employed and musically is probably the fastest paced track on the EP, though I would hesitate to even call it "mid- paced".

As I said, this captures what was happening musically in the mid 90's as far as "sludge" goes but, while the love for Grief is obvious I think they have a path that may show them doing their own thing. Specifically in the vocal choices in the final track, which I think is my favorite.  They have a new recording coming out in June so we can all look forward to the horror and misery.

Highlights: Hunted Down but, again, the whole recording is great if you're into the sludgecore sound. Highly recommended from this here blog. Check them out and, indeed, LISTEN TO GRIEF!


https://seethegrieverdoom.bandcamp.com/