Kenneth W. (Eyesore) from TAUNTON, MA
Reviewed on 12/4/2007...
Sludge. The mud and mire and oozy-poo (that's a word, by the way) that sits on the bottom of a lake. Sludge. An appropriate term for a genre that seems to feature some of the most dreadful bands on the planet. Bottom feeders. There are, however, exceptions to the rule. Crowbar comes to mind. Deadbird is another. Negative Reaction straddles the line, though. Admittedly, sludge is not my favorite genre out there. In fact, keeping things relative, if I had a "favorite genres" list, sludge would be damn near the bottom. So if you're a fan of this genre, take this review with a grain of salt -- or simply kick the score up a point or two.
Under The Ancient Penalty, like I mentioned, seems to walk the line -- swaying and shouting like a blabbering drunkard -- between good and really bad, more emphasis toward the latter. The biggest problem with this album makes its first appearance at the 0:40 mark of the aptly titled first track, "Lost." Musically the band is in the zone, churning out bass-heavy riffs-o-doom (that's a word, also), but then the guitarist morphs into a crazy man -- now wielding a microphone -- and drops a giant turd on the ears of the listener. Ken E. Bones pummels the listener with an angry-hardcore-kid-meets-a-kid-from-Widney-High vocal assault. He is reluctantly spared my ridicule during the verses of "Lost," mainly for its killer, rollicking groove that overshadows the horrendous vocals. He also gets a pass for his more melodic "singing" and controlled screaming on "Loathing." This saves neither song completely, but it helps keep them fairly enjoyable. "Pain" is just that -- pain! 'Nuff said. In fact, most of these songs are appropriately titled -- "Empty" is empty of anything memorable; "Suffer" suffers -- both song and listener (this one, at least); "Linger" overstays its welcome by about six minutes and fourteen seconds; and the band name itself -- Negative Reaction -- seems to divine its very own existence. But maybe that's the point?
The self-proclaimed "Gods of Sludge" have been around since 1993. So they've got enough sheep worshipping at the altar for me to know that this is a band pandering to a very tightly-grouped flock of music fans. This isn't music widely liked. The endless droning throughout these near fifty minutes cannot be saved from the few moments of good songwriting, or the two decent songs. A better singer would do this band wonders. But if you like sludge, you may like this -- though I've heard far better. If you're someone like me, who likes some sludge bands, or simply not a fan of the genre, Negative Reaction is likely only going to solidify your negative opinion of the genre. This album will please some, but, under some "ancient penalty" -- lame, zing-tastic pun intended -- I'd suggest avoiding this one.
Website: http://www.negativereaction.info
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/negativereaction
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1
