Sofa King Killer

In the decade-long tradition of Eyehategod, Cavity, and the like, Ohio’s Sofa King Killer emerge from the primordial muck after two short splits with Leechmilk and Fistula. This Akron-based quintet releases their debut EP, proving their worth as a force to be reckoned with in the sludge-rock sweeps. "Die Like An Astronaut” pours forth like a dynamite-ruptured cement mixer, eliciting references to EHG, Grief, and old Sourvein, and "CLE” follows said formula but with a more distinctive Southern groove like Virginia’s Beaten Back To Pure. The instrumental "Blues Couch” is a much quieter cut, however; its Allman Brothers-inspired acoustic guitars lie around lazily like similar moments from Paw’s Home Is A Strange Place, while drummer Brad Thorla’s organ creates a church-like solemnity. "Burn The Fields” is a true test of vocalist Ryan Burgy’s range, and he delivers exceedingly well as a cross between the screamier edge of EHG’s Mike Williams and the bottom-end snarl of Weedeater’s Dixie Collins — not to mention the tune’s all-out bashfest like a hopped-up Iron Monkey. As Lust Crime And Holiness takes its place alongside doom’s great records, Sofa King Killer should have a cushy time ahead of them.