Javelina - 'Beasts Among Sheep'

Q: “Some sludge with your crust?” A: “Don’t mind if I do!”

Pennsylvania has a knack for original talent, and Philadelphia’s own Javelina—pronounced "hä-va-'LE-na"—serves as no exception, kicking out an exceptional number of crusty doom jams here on Beasts Among Sheep, the band’s sophomore effort for Translation Loss Records.

While Javelina’s 2008 self-titled debut possessed a more immediate, fist-pumping effect, Beasts Among Sheep makes valiant attempts at progression by incorporating a more marked sludge/doom influence into the band’s Tragedy-esque crust attack. The effect as a whole is worthwhile, with Beasts…utilizing a tasteful dual-guitar attack, while rocking like a sonofabtich the entire way.

With a sound as unique as Javelina’s, the possibilities really seem endless, as the quartet—guitarist/vocalist Chubbrock, guitarist/vocalist Mike B, bassist/vocalist Herb and drummer Eric—seem to harbor just as many influences from punk rock as they do sludge/doom, and it shows. Infectious, D-beat blasting drives each of the album’s eight songs in furious circles, undercut only by Chubbrock and Mike’s penchant for inserting Sabbathian grooves in just the right places.

This album takes bit longer to bore its way into the listener’s brain-stem, but the end results are worth it, as Javelina taps into an honest sort of extremity; one which harbors a deep love and respect for everything dark, dingy and destructive. Beasts Among Sheep captures a tense, seedy filth; akin to a back alley abortion or a no-way-out knife fight: either way, it ain’t gonna be pretty.