Indian

Reanimating the still-rotting corpse of UK’s Iron Monkey, Chicago’s sludge packers Indian channel all classic doom core bands into a mammoth, pulverising conglomerate that’s all their own. Like a cross between the drone metal of early Earth and the spacey keyboards of Rush’s "Overture” (from 2112), the instrumental "No Able Fires” completely lulls the listener into an Isis-like slumber before the bulldozing "Ration” ploughs through to destroy all innocents. The Grief-ish gravity of "Dead Weight” mops up the bodies left behind, while "Los Nietos” remains mindful of the Melvins’ Bullhead piped through Bongzilla’s Gateway. "Queen” invokes the infernal beings that forged Harvey Milk over a decade ago, and "Tied and Gagged” resembles neighbours Lair of the Minotaur winding up for the killing stroke. The all-too-brief "God of Panic, Lord of Decay” rends the Southern groove straight off of Corrosion of Conformity’s "Vote with a Bullet.” More guitar pedal twiddling results in the eight-minute noise collage "Loophole Noose,” erupting near the end with an unholy Cavity addiction. After its tribal-drum intro, "Shill” creeps around Electric Wizard while closer "Worshiper of Sores” pegs the faster rhythms of Goatsnake before slipping back into the muck. The Unquiet Sky is easily one of sludge core’s brightest hopes, and the crushing production by Buried At Sea/Minsk’s Sanford Parker only furthers Indian’s ultimate goal of obliterating all amps and eardrums in a one zillion-mile radius.