South Wales is the home of death-sludge trio Tides of Sulfur are unleashing their full-length debut album Extinction Curse via Black Bow Records. I was a bit miffed on my first full listen of the album, as the style jumps drastically around between sludge, doom, death and black metal. In the 3 years since their inception, it seems this crew is less interested in what they are than where they are going. And if they keep doing what they do, the only direction is up.
The album opens with my favorite track, the absolutely crushing "Eternal Bleeding." Ominous feedback and a few doomy sustained chords give way to a powerhouse of groovy riffs punctuated by ferocious snare hits and wretched shrieks not unlike Charlie Fell's work with Lord Mantis. These aggressive waves of distortion are further layered with psychodelic, effects-laden leads...and then without warning an explosion of crusty death metal.
The mention of Fell is also apt in that the eclectic mix of rock, death, and black metal at times conjure comparisons with Cobalt. Compositions touch on a similar amount of experimentation dynamics from the quiet picking and strange spoken word opening "..,Of Suffering and Grief" to the thrashy, southern-infused hooks of "Woe to You O Destroyer." I'll admit that I didn't quite "get it" on my first pass, but subsequent listens have me eating up these chugging blackened riffs and churning rhythms. It's a boiling pot of resentment, and it's starting to bubble over.
But go ahead and grap a ladle, cuz there's something in this sickening stew for everyone. Brutal death vocals? We got 'em. Doomy trudges through darkness? Check. Allusions to Celtic Frost? Hell yes. And just when you get comfortable with one particular style, be ready for Tides of Sulfur to pull the rug out from under you and change gears. In this way, the band has the perfect name: their music is an unpredictable torrent of hellfire. Be sure to give this one a little extra attention, because there is more here than may initially meet the eye.