A band with drummer Away of the legendary Voivod, as well as Rob Miller from similarly legendary apocalypto-punks Amebix (toss dudes from Misery and War//Plague in there as well) is certainly something worth taking note of, so it was with much anticipation that this debut from Tau Cross dropped. It's almost exactly what was expected, although maybe a bit less no-fun and more rocking than the complete doom and gloom that I was imagining. There are none of the annoying industrial overtones that I was predicting; instead, the album rocking hard and intense, the songs surprisingly concise, the band taking the sounds of their day jobs and spitting them out as Neurosis radio edits.
And what a voice, the croaking coming through with enough sincerity and roughhouse grit to make Lemmy blush. Songs like the excellent "Hangman's Hyll" find the sweet spot between dark '80s crusty underground metal and, oddly, new wave, as the band certainly know a thing or two about catchy song structures. A cut like "The Devil Knows His Own" brings to mind Fields of the Nephilim in its moody, acoustic honesty. This is a fascinating, fun, and well-executed album from a neat and diverse collection of extreme music pros.
(Relapse)And what a voice, the croaking coming through with enough sincerity and roughhouse grit to make Lemmy blush. Songs like the excellent "Hangman's Hyll" find the sweet spot between dark '80s crusty underground metal and, oddly, new wave, as the band certainly know a thing or two about catchy song structures. A cut like "The Devil Knows His Own" brings to mind Fields of the Nephilim in its moody, acoustic honesty. This is a fascinating, fun, and well-executed album from a neat and diverse collection of extreme music pros.
