Beneath

It only took ten seconds to know what I was in for here – gritty, abrasive sludge metal that sounds like it’s straight out of southern USA. Except it’s not. Merchant are a down ‘n’ dirty quartet all the way from down under! Australia isn’t usually the place we’d expect to find Eyehategod-worshippers, but these Aussies give it hell like it comes naturally. It was only last year they independently released their first LP Suzerain, which was a sprawling beast containing four tracks of varying length and feel. Since then, they’ve signed to Black Bow Records and are poised to launch Beneath here in 2017. However, the track list is considerably shorter; only two – and Moonsorrow this ain’t, so the whole affair lasts for under half an hour. Disappointing? Maybe – but is it still the same harsh, doom-laden sludge metal along the lines of Sourvein and Slabdragger? You bet.

How else would you commence an album of this genre? Why with feedback of course! Yes, they nail all the criteria essential to be considered a true sludge metal band: raw production, lots of feedback, earthy bass and layers of distortion. Now, even though I understand the benefits of building suspense, the almost five-minute introduction to opener “Guile As A Vice” is overdoing it a little – especially when the payoff isn’t that impressive. What should be an enormous bluesy riff is easily engulfed by the clamour of cymbals which also eclipse Mirgy’s unique voice. He doesn’t employ a berserk scream like genre icon T-roy, neither does he tunefully croon like Pallbearer. He comfortably rasps in mid-range, and produces some of the record’s most interesting sounds, but is too easily masked by overpowered drums. No disparagement for the performance behind the kit, as he pounds away precisely with no tendency to rush.

Structurally there isn’t much to say. Each piece crushes away with immense weight but rarely varies in texture, except for the occasional wailing lead guitar that soars overhead. “Succumbing” does away with the extended intro, opting instead to lunge straight for the jugular with a far more memorable riff than its predecessor. In all respects, this is the more intriguing half of Beneath. It fluctuates in tempo, ebbing back and forth with the force of a lava flow. Mirgy’s higher-pitched screams in this track also provide a much-needed refresher, making my previous comparison to Slabdragger even more relevant. This is music that breaks no boundaries but is satisfying in its own pigeon-hole. If you relish grinding sludge metal with extra meat and potatoes, you’re in hog’s heaven here – but I feel it would’ve been marketed more successfully as an extensive one-track EP.