Iamthethorn
You Are the Lamb
Goodfellow
We are the impressed
With Iamthethorn, a pair of musicians with ties to Himsa in Johnny Pettibone (current vocalist) and Aaron Edge (former guitarist) sidestep that band’s exuberant take on metalcore in favor of a stab at crust/sludge. I hear you cynics out there: They ditch the cookie cutter stuff and go for something a little more de rigueur in a shallow attempt at restoring some credibility, perhaps? Hell, no. While attempting to mine the same territory seemingly cleaned out by the likes of Eyehategod and Crowbar, the Seattle band emerges with a remarkable handful of nuggets on You Are the Lamb, a 24-minute crusher that is not only an authoritative exercise in all things sludgy, but at times a ridiculously catchy one at that.
Edge’s squealing feedback and down-tuned riffs on “Becoming Death” echo the slo-mo blues of Jimmy Bower, while Pettibone actually sounds even more at home in this milieu than with his regular band, his anguished roar well-suited for the doom-ridden style. One can’t help but detect a little political commentary from Pettibone over the lurching riff and bassline of “Cut Man,” while Edge takes full control of “Crawling Over Them,” sustained chords attempting an Iommi-esque stateliness. It’s when Iamthethorn shifts gears that things really start to get interesting, as “As the Night Rises” cruises along comfortably thanks to a lazy, descending riff and a taut groove, and “The Hunt and Beyond” tosses some hardcore ferocity into the mix. Don’t stop now, guys; there’s too much potential here to be just a one-off. —Adrien Begrand
