Wednesday, June 6, 2012

adrift - Black Heart Bleeds Black



Latest release from adrift.
The wait since 2008's crushing 'Monolito' has been well-met, just under an hour of their trademark monolithic roars and riffs.  The opening three songs are so dense that the following acoustic song "Waves" can only be interpreted as a breather in the near-suffocating wake, before pulling you back under for the concluding four-song assault.  
"Erich Zann Environment", which succinctly mirrors its H.P. Lovecraft influence, shows a side of the band never yet revealed -- an all instrumental, moody and dark, prog-induced dirge that really makes the impact of the final two songs more monumental and kinetic.  
While 'Monolito' had standout tracks like "Scar Thunder" and "Find Your Own Hell", 'Black Heart Bleeds Black' holds together like an inseparable phalanx, with the only chink in the armor being the slightly misaligned "Waves".