Band Origin: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Genre: Sludge / Stoner Metal / Doom
Label: Century Media
Running Time: 45 minutes
Release Date: September 26, 2011
Best Part: That dark atmospheric groove.
Favorite Tracks: Coffin Varnish, Holes in the Desert, An Ache for the Distance, 25s and the Royal Blue, and Horse Thieves
Grade: 4.5
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An Ache for the Distance in way more than 20 words or less:
The second full-length release from this Chicago based sludge metal band is enthralling with its doom ridden groove, dark atmosphere and three intermingling guitars.
The Band:
The Atlas Moth is a five piece sludge metal band from Chicago that was formed in 2007. With a heavier doom oriented influence on the sludge metal genre, the band features at times up to three guitarists who work off of each other to create an interesting contrast of rhythms and grooves. And with the mix of clean, ominous vocals, almost black metal like shrieking screams, and psychedelic lyrics, what you end up with is a tenuous balance between serenity and the looming presence of impending doom. The Atlas Moth is a new favorite in the genre which I discovered while going through other more lesser known bands signed to Profound Lore.
The Atlas Moth is a five piece sludge metal band from Chicago that was formed in 2007. With a heavier doom oriented influence on the sludge metal genre, the band features at times up to three guitarists who work off of each other to create an interesting contrast of rhythms and grooves. And with the mix of clean, ominous vocals, almost black metal like shrieking screams, and psychedelic lyrics, what you end up with is a tenuous balance between serenity and the looming presence of impending doom. The Atlas Moth is a new favorite in the genre which I discovered while going through other more lesser known bands signed to Profound Lore.
Jay's Take on An Ache for the Distance:
Sludge metal is one of my go to genres in a large number of situations, and has a stable of talented groups that I can always rely on, including Mastodon, Baroness, Kylesa and Black Tusk, just to name some of my favorites. In discovering their second full-length release, The Atlas Moth can now count themselves among the aforementioned. An Ache for the Distance is a record that constantly flutters between a kind of dark atmospheric energy, and a more doom like feel, which is a byproduct of both the instrumentation and the psychedelic take on life that the band covers on their tracks. There are a few elements that make The Atlas Moth stand out amongst their peers. Their choice of vocals which blends slow, gloomy clean sung passages and screams which sound more akin to black metal style shrieks is an aspect that really helps keep the dark yet serene feeling of the album intact. The other aspect lies in the instrumentation, which features the inclusion at times of three guitarists - something that is not a largely common setup in this type of genre. The end result is a layering of rhythms that adds just that extra bit of texture to the background, giving the doom trodden energy a more vibrant and enthralling groove. Despite my clear biased fanboism for Mastodon, An Ache for the Distance was still my favorite sludge metal record for 2011 - even if I may have ranked The Hunter higher in my top 20 rankings for the year.
Sample of the Day:
- J
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