Pulling Teeth

What the hell is going on with Pulling Teeth these days? While previous albums were uncompromising shots of directness and venom, for their latest long-player, Baltimore, MD's quintessential metal-influenced hardcore brigade delve even further into their growing appreciation for apocalyptic experimentation, frenzied viciousness and outright oddity. Kicking off with their traditional doses of high-energy and expedience, Funerary is a welcome dose of heaviness. Unfortunately, it then takes a sharp turn into gloomy, almost black metal creepiness offset by sludge metal pacing, elongated tracks (between four and ten minutes) and a whole lot of Crowbar-ish ringing notes under their trademark wailing screams. At that, the album is certainly inspired, featuring no lack of aggression, dynamics, passion or creative riffs. What's seriously missing is a realization that over 45 minutes of modern hardcore devolving into predictable drone eventually renders the affair incredibly boring. It's overkill, pushing the album's second half to the wayside. Carving a fresh path is admirable, but if it careens into oblivion, what's the point?