This is the first proper North American release for the Belgian sludge metal band Blutch, even though they've released a couple other albums in Europe.
This type of music is an acquired taste. For some the slow, droning, feedback-laden style is nothing but noise. To others, the sludgy and doomy sound of Blutch and other bands of their genre is nothing short of brilliant. I land somewhere in the middle.
Materia is fuzzy and plods along at a snail's pace, destroying everything in its path. The songs are experimental and have influences of drone, stoner and doom metal. The vocals are few and far between, and the fuzzy guitars and thundering drums are showcased most often. Some songs are dense and noisy with a lot of tension while others are more laid back and mellower. You won't find any hooks or singalong melodies here, just oppressive and dark doom/drone metal.
