Labels: Noise Appeal – Rock is Hell
Review by: Alex Deller
First few minutes of this and you think you’ve got it pegged: big grumbly riffs, big grumbly vocals and an overall apocalyptic vibe. So far, so Neurosis/Melvins, right? Right. As ‘Atropos’ oozes forward, however, it begins to shift between forms and styles, lobbing in the occasional sloping post-hardcore element here and a rough-hewn lump of noise-rock there until you’re none too sure as to where things might be heading. At its most off-kilter (be that in terms of broken bottle riffing or strange, slurred, semi-spoken shrieks) you get the feeling that Bug might have a few Oxbow (or, at least, Jesus Lizard) records tucked away in their collections. While there’s nothing here to suggest anything as profound as the names thus far dropped, ‘Atropos’ is certainly a solid effort and one that at least tries striking out beyond a set of fairly well established parameters.