MARCH INTO THE SEA

"March Into the Sea" starts with the nastiest guitar sound this side of hell's worst neighborhood. A pretty good chug ensues (or would that be a march?) as the guys get things warmed up. Somewhere around the 3 ½ minute mark there is slight time shift and from it creeps another guitar sound, this one exploring some light leads over the fray. The drumming and bass are monster heavy and thick. Near 8 minutes the main wall of noise falls away leaving a naked minimal drumbeat pounding with heavy cymbal smashing. Then comes back the lighter lead guitar to paint some nice textures reminding me of a really heavy version of Durutti Column. It's great but that cymbal overkill kinds of distracts from the beauty of the guitar for me in this section. Things build again to an insane pace until 12 minutes when the storm falls silent again save for a cool guitar effect that sounds more like keys, over which an acoustic guitar begins to strum. A very cool ambient section begins to flourish with flutes and strange background sounds that confuse me: they don't credit any keys that I can see but it sure sound like more than guitars there. Whatever it is, it's pretty cool. The rest of the track continues with this droning, trance-like state that is 180 degrees from the first half of the song's aural assault. The second song is called "Angel Tears-JK Broadrick remix." We begin with a rather slow pace and again very heavy, with an absolute hellish thick mess of guitar maelstrom riding atop the bass and other effects. Around 8 minutes there is some tortured electronic pops and buzzes thrown in for good measure. This one is decent but not quite as good as the title track.

The music on "March" has less diversity in sound and fewer treats than some others I've heard lately. No cellos or soft female vocals like Squid, no leads as tasty as Morningside, no violins like Indukti, no anything-goes method of Toby Driver. This music is more of a consistent "Sea" of guitar distortions and beats, and while there certainly are sound textures being painted throughout, they are more subtle and not as obvious as a violin or vocal would be. Nothing wrong with that, I'm just trying to describe the distinction for those wondering what this sounds like overall. The title couldn't be more apt, this music is a 30 minute march into the sea. The heaviness is like the weight of the ocean on your back-even the mellower sections "feel" heavy. The artwork inside and out depicting sky and sea fits the moods perfectly. Easily recommended to fans of the genre and anyone seeking a good sonic arsekicking

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