Sourvein
Ghetto Angel
This Dark Reign
Superjoint mini-ritual
Who says that stoners can’t be productive? Dave “Dixie” Collins seemingly has a band for every possible combination of smoking buddies. He first kicked in teeth with sludge punks Buzzov-en. Then he practically cloned himself, popping up in Bongzilla and Weedeater (both self-explanatory names), as well as Hail!Hornet and Sourvein. Each band’s m.o. is the same—tune down, turn up, toke. They’re slightly different, though: Bongzilla are the “friendlies” of the bunch, occasionally wandering into psychedelic bongwaters. Weedeater are more burly but likewise bluesy. Hail!Hornet’s sludge has metal edges, while Sourvein are like Hail!Hornet (they share Collins and vocalist Troy Medlin), but fuzzier and meaner. Collins is like the Tomas Lindberg of sludge, but on bass.
At four tracks totaling under 17 minutes, Ghetto Angel is just a jab, lacking the range of Sourvein’s full-lengths (“Salvation” began with one of the greatest cowbell beats ever committed to tape). Still, it stings. “Nightwing” galumphs with curmudgeonly oompah, while “D.I.L.L.I.G.A.F.” rouses itself into a bullheaded two-step. “Doldrums...” reduces Black Sabbath pentatonics to a four-note pounding headache. The recording is exactly as it should be—natural, huge and bloody. In the right hands, amp hum is a minor art, and thankfully producer Vince Burke (also on loan from Hail!Hornet) lets such filth ooze freely. “Septic Werewolves” has the most toxic bite; it’s as if the riff in Black Flag’s “Rise Above” kept descending, dragging one’s face slowly down a gravel hill. —Cosmo Lee
