Sunday, October 7, 2012

Tumbleweed Dealer - Death Rides Southwards



Though the sludge genre has gained immense popularity over latter years compared to its peer and forefather (in a way) doom, I still find it hard to enjoy any upcoming sludge bombasts coming my way; and worst of all, with prodigious quantities of bands preferring sludge over doom, my grasp on snail-paced quality metal is becoming aggravatingly tenuous. Yes, there are still a few high calibre and true doom metal bands out there just doing their job, slurping around and splattering ominous drudgery all over, and there even a few acts that are capable of mashing the two genres up and still sound good, but the numbers are dwindling. Tumbleweed Dealer are an interesting and little known act that became known to me only in recent weeks.

The band can be mostly qualified as sludge, though I think I’m more fortunate than that. The Dealers basically put chunks of emphasis on sludge’s bluesy tendencies, which, I believe, according to the tenets of sludge can be thought as a rather unorthodox thing. I’m usually not very open to changes or modernization in metal, but when these nuances are stretched upon characteristics that I find agitating, I can be pretty content; and these guys are a perfect example of it. It’s hard to even call this metal, because I’d certainly dub it as a bastardized overtone of blues, and really, it’s the subtle extremity and heft of those bashing blues chords that make all the difference. The EP is pretty short in truth, ranging at ten minutes, but the band, using all sorts of jiving bluesy manoeuvres, crams a lot of material into the brief box of riffs. The two tracks both commence with rumbling, boisterous sludge trudges, and the staircase of progression begins.  As the rhythm section progresses, the band starts fitting in blues-tinged leads upon each riff, and further on the orchestration becomes even more complex as more and more leads bind into each other, ultimately creating a sorrowful web of melodies that are neither excessively convoluted nor too simple for the seeker of interest.

Through contrast, instrumental efficiency and intricacy, the band has earned accolades from me, and their performance, though not unbelievably impressive, is solid enough to catch the attention of pretty much anyone who has some interest in sludge or blues, and with its semi-ominous overtone flanking the listener vaguely, I believe that Tumbleweed Dealer can achieve something that’s truly inspired and different – and even if they somehow flounder, this EP is a recommended piece. 

Highlights:
Death Rides Southwards
Crawling Through Cacti

Rating: 79%

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