This is the debut album from Jagged Mouth, a sludge/doom metal band from the US.
With the kind of scathingly high-pitched vocals that can strip skin at 100 paces, Jagged Mouth don’t mess around. This is slow and heavy sludge/doom that doesn’t care for being nice or pleasant in any way.
If you imagine the kind of base negativity and nihilistic hatred of a band like Eyehategod, strip out, (mostly), the Southern aspects of the sound, apply brakes, stretch the songs out in length and sprinkle on just a pinch of blackened bile, then you’ll have some idea of where Jagged Mouth are located, festering in their own juices as they plot the end of the world.
This is bleak music that also has a slither of funeral doom running through it. This is sometimes allowed to manifest itself in the band’s use of the agonised, tortured melodies that are occasionally given permission to show themselves through the murk and density of the rest of the music.
The curtains of tar-like sludge also conspire to keep hidden the band’s incorporation of aspects of traditional doom metal into their black hearts, although this does come out in some of the riffs, distorted with grime and filth though they are.
Ethereal, ghost-like cleans and some other vocal variety is introduced during the fourth track, (Lingers the Taolith), further adding to the atmospheres that are created by the band. This is also the first track that has a bit of a Southern flavour too, near the end, (with a bit of an Iron Monkey feel to it).
I love this kind of heavy, repetitive sludge/doom, especially when it comes replete with such abrasively face-shredding vocals.
I enjoyed this so much. Once you press play it’s a joy to just tune into it and get carried away by the force of the riffs and flow of the dirty guitars.
Very highly recommended, this one. Jagged Mouth will be frequenting my playlists quite often, I can tell you.
Have a listen.
Wonderbox Metal 