Alaskan

Alaskan, despite their name, are a member of Ottawa's small but fruitful sludge scene. This album is their first mark on the scene. They play sludge metal of the atmospheric vein while managing to not sound like the post-metal crowd. The atmosphere has more in common with black metal, really. They feature little in terms in the way of obvious light atmospheric sections. Rather they let the flow of the music and its sleepy ambiance cultivate the atmosphere. While this is not bad for a first effort, there definitely is some room for improvement. It's hard to not see this as a stepping stone to their vastly superior sophomore.

The dark, earthy guitar tone and smooth flow bring to mind black metal with a penchant for atmosphere garnered through droning tremolo. Not that these riff are tremolo themselves, but they arrive at a similar effect. There is a tangible amount of mud in the production, which is generally the way that sludge is meant to be. Occasional spoken word samples do well to fortify the dim atmosphere. Murky acoustic guitar with solemn reserve make an appearance every now and then. In fact, "Something's Wrong" is derived solely from this type of guitar playing and unnerving samples. This record's most potent strength is the ability to carve out a certain feeling.

While the production does arrive at an atramentous and downtrodden tone, it also falls a bit on the weak side. It's nothing awful, but the recording quality does come off as a tad thin. A thicker, more meaty production job would do wonders for the sound. The riffs occasionally drown in the murk, blending into the bleak, hazy soundscape. The riffs themselves could use a little work. They're hardly wholly devoid of worth, but surely need a bit more power entrenched in them. The same sentiment can be applied to the entire album, in no way does any part fail en mass, but just about everything needs to step up a notch to truly capture what they're going for. For the vocals, this would mean added aggression. Although the muddy barks do fit well, some added kick would really capture their lurid sensibilities.

Despite things needed to be taken up a notch, this really isn't a bad album. The atmosphere is a successful one, if not slightly hampered by the thin production. Their muddy, murky vibe is one I'm partial to. It's hard to say if it's intentional or not, but the parallels to black metal are cool. I'm really not trying to knock these guys or anything, I'm definitely glad they're part of my hometown scene. That said, even good bands sometimes have meager beginnings. This seems like the narrow beginnings of a path to something greater. Although a fair enough debut, I don't often find myself listening to this when I could just put on their sophomore.