France’s Mudbath might be touted as part of the current upswell of sludge acts proliferating the metal underground, but we’re not sure how much second full-length release ‘Brine Pool’ sees them wallow in the filthier depths.
Opener ‘Burn Brighter’ kicks off with an urgent, rattling snare and meditative guitar loop that serves to build tension. Things slowly chug and build into a solid groove, abruptly stopping to indulge in some hard-panned tremolo picking and ragged vocal howls, before creeping in with an atonal shift. There are moments of rushing, acidic black metal tinge and stark, negative space peppered with driving, uplifting post metal drone, before dropping out slowly, wearied and drained. ‘End Up Cold’ lumbers along with muted, chugging chords, drums locked in tight with a steady roll. Doomy, grinding guitars take flight, echoing vocals wretch from the distance.
‘Seventh Circle’ unsettles with soft, chiming guitars before a cascade of hammer-blow chords ring out, building tidally around hungry bass notes. Shrieked, harrowing vocals usher in a regal pace, a righteous, uplifting undertow rising up and seeing us home. ‘Zone Theory’ is breathless: a jarring, almost math-metal rush of blastbeats and stop-start swing.
‘Rejuvenate’ bristles with foreboding synth and cowed guitars, light but still filled with anticipated rage. It’s almost wistful, a moment of lucidity but not true clarity, devolving into lush chords and a pulsating noisescape of entwined synths. ‘Fire’ closes the show with a rapid progression, bursting with a rushing gallop and clanging cymbals. It falls to a sombre guitar break, once more embracing post-metal, a piercing, brittle guitar loop winding under and over tolling chords, before climaxing with wavering feedback.
‘Brine Pool’ is a solid, well written record that indulges in an admirable amount of genre shifting; selectively indulging in elements of strident post-metal, blistering black metal and the chunky grooves of sludge. It’s undeniable that some talented musicians sit at the heart of Mudbath but unfortunately the mastering of the album repeatedly lets them down. Overuse of hard-panning leaves layers too separate, individual instruments are stranded out on a limb when they should be bought into a fold. For a band that relies on dynamic shifts, there’s no sense of real lightness or weight here, things occupying a middle ground that strips them of being truly affecting. An enjoyable listen, but with such a vibrant and strong scene to contend with, Mudbath are going to have to up their game to truly dominate.
JAY HAMPSHIRE