On vocals, we have Mike Scheidt, primarily from Yob. John Cobbett contributes guitars and he has played in a number of bands, most notably The Lord Weird Slough Feg and Hammers of Misfortune. The drummer is Aesop Dekker from Agalloch, among others. And the bassist is Sigrid Sheie, also from Hammers of Misfortune. Agalloch probably has the biggest following of those bands, but the rest are more cult favorites. I have seen Yob live, though I went primarily to see Bell Witch that day.
So what happens when these bands, who are primarily traditional-sounding metal bands but also include doom and black metal influences, get together? Well, it is hard to pigeonhole this band. There are definitely some traditional metal influences and some rock and doom metal influences. But there is also a heavy crust/thrash metal influence and some black metal thrown in for good measure. More than anything, this band just plain rocks. The songs are typically fast-paced with rumbling riffs and some primal energy. But there are a lot of truly odd moments thrown in that make this a schizoprenic, off-kilter listen. Scheidt's raw, grunting vocal style fits in well, giving this album a grittiness and dirtiness that adds to the character of the riffing.
This is an impressive release. I am not a huge fan of any of the bands that the other members of this group spend most of their time in (I like them all though), but I do really enjoy this album. It is definitely weird and out there, but it is a ton of fun.
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