I am hurt.
A
plague a' both your houses! I am sped.'
-Mercutio
Romeo
and Juliet – 1579
While
I'm pretty sure UK sludgers Grimpen Mire haven't released an ode to
Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet with their début album 'A
Plague Upon Your Houses', the tone of their music reflects Mercutio's
curse upon the houses of Capulet and Montague. Just down the road
from the birthplace of doom, Birmingham, lies Wolverhampton. Aside
from the funny accents, the city (like so many others in the
Midlands) has a proud industrial past that was laid to waste in the
80's. Fertile grounds for some nasty sludge and doom to grow. The
three-piece have been a regular on the UK gig circuit for a while
now, touring with the likes of Black Breath, Serpent Venom,
Undersmile and Conan.
'A
Plague...' isn't an easy listen, but then this is sludge, it's never
going to be an smooth ride. Having said that their nastiness doesn't
come from crappy production, on the contrary, the production is
excellent. The tracks, recalling the post-industrial urban decay of
their home town, Wolverhampton, drip with caustic grime. I won't do a
track by track analysis, but this is solid sludge with hints of
traditional doom. By and large it is very much 'by the book',
offering little in the way of innovation, but it is delivered so well
such crimes are forgiven.
If
I was to offer criticism, it would be that I wasn't totally sold by
the vocal delivery. Proficient as Van Linden's roars are, I didn't
feel the rage- they felt a little too controlled. Overall very good,
just not excellent. I know it's a cliché, but you get the feeling if
the band pushed themselves and took it to the next level they could
produce something really special...7/10.
The
album is currently available to download for five English pounds via
their band camp page, but will be released on CD via At War With
False Noise later on in the year.
Bandcamp
At
War With False Noise
one
of my reviews originally posted up here
http://www.doommantia.com/2012/07/grimpen-mire-plague-upon-your-houses.html
