By: AvNatten

Posted: Aug 31, 2006

After hearing that this southern "supergroup" of sorts would feature the line-up of Erik Larson (Alabama Thunderpussy, ex-Avail), Summer Welch (Baroness), and Dave Witte (Municipal Waste, Burnt by the Sun, Discordance Axis) I was a little more than intrigued by what this musical meeting of the minds would sound like. To be honest I expected a stoner sludge rock band and as fate would have my prediction was totally wrong. The sludgy southern feel is still there at times but it is paired up with death metal in a way that has caused the band to label their pummelling attack death n' roll.

"Weight Of The Wound" is their debut album but with that being said the band sounds seasoned as if they have always played this style together. All of the blues styled riffs have been cast aside in favor of guitars that assault your senses in a death metal style with a little thrash thrown in on occasion. Ben "Boss" Hogg's vocals are growled and gargled, he changes the depth of the growls once in a while especially on 'Frontlawn Filled With Family Members' where a higher pitched demonic hiss is spasmed out of his throat, but I believe more variation in the vocal patterns would have given the tracks an added punch. The lyrics that he spits forth deal with death and mutilation as well as other unpleasant things. Guitars are handled by Erik Larson and Bo Leslie who have similar styles and keep the pace frenetic. Though Dave Witte's drumming is the star on this disc, he pounds out beats that bounce back and forth between the speakers leaving your mind in a daze. Particularly on 'Landfill Burial' where he hammers out a frenzied backbone for the track and towards the end draws back and changes pace to make way for a slower sludgy passage that holds the faintest hint of a stoner rock riff.

The production is dry at times and is akin to the production values of Alabama Thunderpussy but not as warm sounding. This album wont be easy for the typical stoner and sludge fans to swallow but for those who can handle some aggression they may get carried away in the bands sound and enjoy this lesson in southern angst. Clocking in around 3 minutes a piece the tracks fly by pretty quick, delivering their punches quick though sometimes some passages do drag on in traditional sludge style. I don't see this as being a one shot album for Birds Of Prey, over time I think we will be hearing more from this band and as time flies by and they progress together the next album may blow this one and other similar titles right out of the swampy water!

Rating: 8½/10

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