THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH

The rubbery bass, the down tuned six-string sickness, a Neanderthal sledgehammer beat, and a screech of "Resurrection!" make the hairs on the back of the neck stand up and the mouth go dry… It is "Hats Made of Veal and that New Car Scent", the first track from THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH's self-titled debut, and it is tailor made for all you morbid sludge fanatics and worshippers of all things IRON MONKEY and EYEHATEGOD. The style is a familiar one, but does stop short of blatant mimicry.

Fortunately, the boys (including former members of WILL HAVEN and ODDMAN) do a fine job of entertaining the hopelessly downtrodden and perpetually depressed with a 27-minute batch of songs that is not long enough to induce boredom (unless of course you despise the genre). Tempos are varied, if ever so slightly, and each song is relatively distinct from the next. That's really all you can ask when trying to digest such a pleasantly rotten meal. A tour through the album reveals several moments to remember when contemplating suicide or pontificating on your miserable lot in life. That one can scream along with a half-smile to the chorus of "I Am the Carcass" certainly helps ease the pain. That's a good thing because the pure despondency heard on "A Hot Pink Shell of My Former Self" is mentally crippling; like swimming in a valium sea, the chords weep a thousand years of pain and misery. It hurts, but you'll continue to endure until things become a little more, er, upbeat on "Parasite Hilton and Other Flaws Inherent to Wealth". The pace picks up a bit, but it would probably be more accurate to say that the band drags its victim through the mud a little more briskly than is the case with other tracks.

Yes sir, THE ABOMINABLE IRON SLOTH isn't just another pretty face. It is the taste of blood in your mouth and the sound of that nagging little bitch of a pain called your life. Best served with raw meat and grain alcohol.