Howl

Artist: 
Album Title: 
Bloodlines
Release Date: 
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Distribution: 
Review Type: 

The style is distinctly sludge groove math metal with a ballsy guitar/drum/bass/vocalist line-up. Think of garage Black Tusk inspired screamy metal songs with a very upbeat head-nodding lilt in the standard verse / chorus / solo / verse format. What's more, Howl sport a punk-style attitude/aesthetic yet somehow combine it with a higher degree of metallic accessibility. The band has a strong sense of including hooks and great fuzz leads without sacrificing the grooviness, to quickly grab the listener's attention. The band knows when to take breaks from the speedier moments and almost always includes a slower break with melodic riffs and harmonized guitars. While improvements can be made to Howl, in particular, the howling vocals are sometimes too close to growlers, and a couple of songs sound the same, A tight rhythm section with the requisite trigger-happy drummer, down tuned, open-fingered chords with lots of sticky bends and harmonics, and a seriously confident sense for the perfect time changes without wasting a good riff or a money-shot groove, all are present on this album.

85/100