Volition - s/t - CD (2007)

Labels: Total Rust
Review by: Kunal Nandi

I thought this was going to be hard work but it wasn’t in the slightest. Trad-doom leanings and lengthy track times doesn’t always bode well, but this is far from boredom city. It definitely is tortured and drawn-out, with a real simple approach that doesn’t extend much further than playing real big chords real slow, but Volition create such a great trance-like atmosphere from their continuously progressing sludge, with the songs coalescing into a single cancerous mass, that you get caught up in the swirl. The vocals are gruff and deep in the main, with intermittently shrill backups. These snag your attention but don’t detract from the overall atmosphere. Interestingly enough, it was recorded by Bri Doom at the 1in12 in Bradford, usually a haven for crusty punk shenanigans, so it’s great to hear him doing a record of this style and giving it more than enough weight and space to breathe.