Damad / Meatjack

Damad are a very cool band I wish more people knew about. Georgia is a hotbed for great sludge and crust bands, and the scene centers around Savannah. Damad were easily one of the highlights of this scene. Their filthy but expansive crusty sludge was at once heavy as hell while being awash in interesting and unsettling atmosphere. They're a lot more raw, but ultimately it's not a surprise that a member went on to form Kylesa. While not the pinnacle of their sound, their split with Meatjack is a nice farewell outing to their fans. Damad is the standout band on this split, but Meatjack was a welcome discovery.

Damad kick off the split with "React." It sounds like TSiB era Neurosis meets Nausea (the NYC crust one). The male vocals sound like Edward from Neurosis - a deep bellowed yell without the distortion that turns the vocals into growls. I've long missed his vocal presence in Neurosis so it's nice to hear something similar. I feel bad about this because she's usually awesome, but Victoria's vocals are the weak point. It feels like trying to emulate Amy from Nausea, only sounding monotone and needlessly nasally. Oh well, she redeems herself later on the split. One interesting thing I noticed is they inverted who does which vocal parts on the last chorus, and I always appreciate neat little touches like that. Speaking of vocalists, Damad have three on most songs here. This worked fantastically for Neurosis and it sounds great for Damad. It adds an unpredictable element to their sound and all three sound good. Their side caries on with heavy as balls crusty sludge with an adventurous experimental side. One cooler moment on the atmospheric front is the seasick psychedelia of "One Word" with Victoria's droning clean vocals overtop. There's also a section in the song that sounds remarkably like Dystopia in full crust mode (It sounds specifically quite similar to "Taste Your Own Medicine"). I'm never going to mind a nod to those sludge/crust heavyweights.

While I'd say Damad provide the best side of the split, this is far from a case of horrifying overshadowing. Meatjack are more along the lines of the noiserock bands that really leaned into hardcore. While I can definitely hear some Jesus Lizard, Unsane particularly comes to mind. In their most abrasive moments I can detect hints of Today is the Day and even Daughters. Like Damad, they fuck heavy with weird dark psychedelic atmosphere while not sacrificing big heavy riffs in the process. The unhinged yell of the vocalist works perfectly here. They do have a spazzy side, which is used sparingly enough to keep things interesting while not hijacking the sound. Overall, they use just the right amount of experimenting while not losing the song in the process.

So there you have it, the last output from a crust/sludge heavyweight that morphed into another legendary sludge band, and a totally good introduction to a cool noise rock/hardcore band I had no idea existed. And that's kinda how it should be with splits - you get something cool from a band you like and discover a new one in the process. Damad are on point here and I'm totally down to hear more from Meatjack.