Dam Ol' Flag

This is just... special. A few big sludge names seem to come out of Savannah, like Baroness and Kylesa, and a couple albums hailing from that salty coastal southern scene wound up in my collection, including a split between bands Meatjack and this band, Damad. For the sake of the holy album review week, I thought I would give a different release by this band a chance, seeing as their split already had a review by someone. Thank the nine divines that this release was only 13 minutes long, because if it were longer, I would have probably carved my own eardrums out with a nearby fork. The vocals are so bad that I was internally debating whether or not they were meant to be ironic throughout my regrettable journey through this album. I don't think they were. The percussion was chaotic, and the guitar was barely audible for much of the EP. The only redeeming quality for this album is that there were occasionally some decent rhythms, although they were quickly snuffed out and ruined by garbage vocals and maddening drum and guitar tones. And the slower pace of the track Slow Heal sounded alright, once I figured out how to mentally shut out the vocals like they were a traumatic memory.

Track 1, Dam Ol' Flag/Hotel American begins with what I could only assume to be a parody of a military boot camp rhyme? I apologize if I missed a specific reference there. Marching band drums and shit chanting, maybe some kind of anti-war or left wing political statement, I'm not sure. If so, I commend them for that. Although, the possible presence of a progressive political message is not enough to save this track, or album, for that matter. The guitar tones that follow are so distorted and the instrument is tuned so low that it is debatable whether or not is is even a guitar or a bass played inside of a defunct microwave 40 yards from the microphone. Now, I'm all for some distortion and low-fi production for atmosphere, but this is ridiculous. Muffled beyond recognition, tuned to the depths of hell, all that jazz. I can still hear those hellish notes bouncing around in my cranium even after I have finished my listen. The vocals sound like if a twelve year old boy were asked to perform basement punk with a single 5 word sentence describing what it should sound like. Goddamn, my ears!

Track 2, Easy Off, is no better. Beginning with a sample from some oldies song, and quickly transitioning into more sludgy auditory torture. As the oldies track fades, and the song begins, the feeling can only be describes as being abandoned by a dear friend as the crawling dead close in around you. Same story as the last track, shit all around. Especially the vocals, as always. Horrible on a scale that is hard to believe. Makes most Les Légions Noires vocals sound like Luciano Pavarotti. The next two tracks, Merilee and Saint, are the shortest on the album, and their swiftness is greatly appreciated in the case of this listener. The last two tracks, Slow Heal and Adhesive, are better than the first two-thirds of this album. Slow Heal has some distantly enjoyable sections, believe it or not, more so that Adhesive. About 1.5 stars out of 10, would not recommend this record to anyone who wasn't my enemy. I have absolutely nothing against the people who made this record, they're probably decent, but this is just mostly a barrage of sensory torture.

Standout tracks: Saint, because it was the shortest.