At a Loss Recordings are reissuing the out-of-print debut from sludge merchants The Body, which was originally out on Moganono Records back in 2004. Due to the popularity of their recent releases All the Waters of the Earth Turn to Blood and their collaborative Nothing Passes with Braveyoung, the time seemed right to once again unleash their debut yet again.
Those not familiar with the brutal attack of The Body, especially their early style, are in for a surprise. This is heavy hitting, and I mean HEAVY, sludge, complete with booming, monstrous guitar dirges, a wide variety of vocal styles, and the occasional atmospheric passage. Vocals are mixed between violent shrieks & screams, which zig zag over mountains of guitar sludge, though at times the band turn in a brief bit of manic frenzy that you wouldn't find out of place on a Dillinger Escape Plan release. For the most part though it's crushing, doomy sludge, with highlight tracks being "()", "Culture Destroyer", and "The Mother And Tomb Of All Things", each one containing some seriously groovy heavy riffs that tip the distortion scale up over 11. "Final Words" also succeeds as a slow, brooding, and simmering pile of sludgeness, though at nearly 15-minutes it might be a bit long in the tooth for some.
The weakest part of this debut is clearly the vocals, which are way low in the mix and come across as just too much agonized screaming. This would have been much more successful as an instrumental album, as the riffs and atmosphere is quite effective throughout. Still, it's an impressive debut from a band that took these humble beginnings and really matured into something completely different.
Track Listing
- ( )
- The City Of The Magnificent Jewel
- Hearts Ache, Even In Dreams (City Eater)
- Culture Destroyer
- The Mother And Tomb Of All Things
- Failings
- Final Words
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