Egodeathsludge

Look, I'm really not expecting much for high production values in sludge. This is especially true when pertaining to a group's first demo. However, a line has to be drawn somewhere. On their debut demo, Egodeathsludge, this Texan band definitely crosses it. There comes a point when the production values becomes so non-existent that it goes from what would have been raw vitriol to sounding, well, straight up awful. This demo starts with a simple yet rather enjoyable doom riff with this flat, impossibly weak guitar tone. I was sure this was just the intro and a big meaty tone would come booming in. But no - the whole demo just carries on in this fashion, easily becoming its downfall.

I immediately assumed that these were a group of teenagers recording for the first time in their lives in a dank garage that one member's parents reluctantly granted them access to. If this had been the case, I'd be more understanding towards the ridiculously awful sound they get. On closer inspection, two out of three of these guy's MA profiles reveal that they are actually pretty deeply embedded in the scene. Most notably, drummer has played with behemoths Mammoth Grinder (a band well worth checking out) and even filled in live for Insect Warfare. The drums here aren't really that poorly played - the rhythms are just fairly barebones and the sound is obviously very weak and often rather muffled. This revelation makes the production - one that sounds like they were playing live with a single mic in the middle of the room - seem utterly inexplicable. Surely these guys are seasoned enough to do better.

The riffs here range from squarely average to actually quite decent. Despite remaining on the doomier side of sludge, one of their main inspirations seems to be Eyehategod. They also seem to borrow a lot from Dystopia's more doom-laden moments. On the middle track, they come very close to plagiarizing a riff from "Hands that Mold". There are two vocal styles on display - a lower bellow and a decrepit shriek. The shriek is not that far removed from Eyehategod's vocals, although seem a little less inflected by hardcore. These would both come off quite nicely (although perhaps that isn't the best word to describe vocals in sludge) if the production wasn't so unforgivably amateurish.

I guess you could say there is some vague potential lurking around, but they have a very long road to travel before coming anywhere close to reaching it. I do like my sludge as raw and nasty as the next guy, but this crosses the line into sounding laughable. The production is unforgivably flat and muffled. Sure, if they were all 15 and this was their first attempt at recording this could be looked over as a learning experience and a stepping stone to more passable works, but at least two thirds of this group are no stranger to recording music with a band.