Sludge is known to be among the heaviest genres within Metal. The overall of sound of a Sludge band can vary between groovy and chilled-out, and misanthropic. Meth Drinker play depressed, misanthropic and hateful kind of Sludge, similar to crusty Sludge bands like Dystopia and Graves at Sea, but without the violence and brutality of Crust. Hailing from New Zealand, this self-titled album is the first release by this band.
The first impression formed by this band on a listener's mind is "Wow, this is heavy". Feedback-laden, raw guitar riffs are prominent from the first note. The guitar tone is very similar to that heard on Eyehategod's In The Name of Suffering. Perfect for this band, since rather than engaging in bluesy riffing, Meth Drinker combine notes to make the most hateful kind of sound they can. Previous comparisons with Dystopia come into the picture here, but, again, the band is set apart by the total lack of fast, crusty sections, and relies solely on heavy, oppressive riffs. The vocals feel as if rasped out with full force, vomited out by a suffering man, perfectly contributing to the misanthropy. The bass guitar is prominent throughout this release as should be in any Sludge Metal album, and most of it blends in the extremely down-tuned guitars. The groovy, simple drumming here makes sure it doesn't distract the listener from the black, hateful goodness spread through in the guitar riffs. Yet, it maintains groove, without which the album would sound hollow.
Through the album, Meth Drinker showcase their good songwriting abilities, with impressive riffs, use of samples, and variations in songs. The song titles suggest a lyrical theme of drug abuse and mental illness. This is perfectly reflected in the music, and especially the vocals, so it wouldn't take you time to guess it yourself. The band does this variety of Sludge really well, without relying on Crust or Hardcore Punk to bring out the hate, and that is very commendable.
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