Birushanah

Three songs in 40 minutes is always a daunting task, but with ex-members of mighty sludge group Corrupted, it’s a task I’m up for. "Jyodo” is an interesting ambient opener incorporating many different exotic sounds and rhythms into two minutes. Then there’s "Akai Yami,” a 21-minute bruiser that starts off innocent enough, with unplugged guitars and singing that has an Eastern touch, but things get heavy and sludgy as hell. However, there remains traces of interesting percussion and guitar sounds, and the pace even gets speedy for a bit. The vocals are hilariously out of control. "Kairai” is a bit more economical, clocking in at a mere 18 minutes. It takes the same elements of the first song and explores them even further for a rhythmic toe-tapper of a tune before it dissolves into scream-y sludge, goes back to an upbeat "rocker,” then into a jazzy section, complete with samples of babies crying. A tough album to listen to but this is a great look at how extreme sludge and doom can be done with a bit of originality.