Moss

Metal Blade is dipping its toes into the current doom explosion a little late, and while Moss aren't awful, they aren't the band that will successfully establish the label within the genre. Trudging their way through 40 minutes of drone-influenced sludge, Moss have certainly offered up the heaviest release the label has been associated with in some time. Due to the syrupy, ominous production, Moss come across fairly well initially but the album lacks the atmosphere and dynamics to merit repeat listens. While Tombs of the Blind Drugged is merely a four-song EP, it drags by frustratingly slowly and the randomly placed Discharge cover rounding out the track listing does little to alleviate the listener's boredom. That's not to say it's all bad. The group can certainly cave your skull in adequately and the album's use of ambient guitar noise thickens out the songs, adding heft to their dangerously minimal approach. There are also subtly placed background vocals that are sparingly used but are fairly eerie regardless. This is definitely worth a look for genre buffs, and with a little more effort and less one-dimensional songs, they could go a long way. As it stands, they are merely respectable underlings in the modern doom metal hierarchy.