Dead Man's Root - Mouth Breather
Dead Man's Root first appeared in this tiny column of mine all the way back in 2006. Back then, the band's earnest but short demo of three songs blew me away with balls-to-the-wall riffing and a spirit of unhinged fun. Fast-forwarding to 2007, this London power trio of "Death 'N Roll Cavemen" have dropped their debut, the strangely named Mouth Breather. Last time around, I had been impressed by a knack for writing catchy but LOUD AS HELL tunes. As I've inhaled Mouth Breather again and again, I'm pleased to report that this unique talent is still around in spades, and to boot, Dead Man's Root have tapped into something much more furious this time around. If the demo of old promised a gritty death metal spirit possessing blues, Mouth Breather is a primal helping of caveman sludge played at a breakneck, ferocious pace.
The call-to-arms that is "Herbert West" is a perfect example of this style, all at once mixing the tone of Entombed with the flat-out badass nature of Mastodon, the swaying groove of Clutch, and even a few moments of Southern pride courtesy of Rwake or Deadbird. "Caveman Death N' Roll Blues" it is indeed, and what an impossibly gnarly sound! Back to "Herbert West," which is ironically enough one of the best songs on Mouth Breather despite its early placement. "West" belts out thick riffing with a moody whisper of melody; from here, the band steamrolls listeners with a sort of primitive proto-thrash only Mastodon has really given me before. Frantic and animalistic, frontman Ben De La Cour's burly howls fit the music perfectly. Besides being an awesome tribute to H.P. Lovecraft's classic "Reanimator" tale, "West" also unleashes an absolute juggernaught of a breakdown, the aural equivalent of a giant swinging a tree-trunk at you like a baseball bat. All of it makes for fantastic stuff, and the perfect start to the album proper.
The stormy theatrics of "Sailor Song" keeps things rolling like an avalanche of boulders, and the moody clean notes that it opens with reek of earlier Mastodon circa Remissions. A cacoon of sludge riffs soon wholly envelopes these cleaner passages, and like mud spraying all over a brand new tuxedo, everything is tainted by the grime. The song's dirge-like pace and carthartic vibes make for a wonderfully opressing atmosphere, and this should please fans of Neurosis, ISIS, Mastodon, and the like all to varying degrees.
Standing in stark contrast to the above comes the awesomely-named "Indie Fags F*** Off." "Indie Fags" is an ever-twisting groove through vistas of memorable crust riffs owing as much to Bolt Thrower as it does to Entombed; the band's gargantuan wall of slamming guitars cap things off with an aggresive beatdown on the much-maligned indie genre. "Scales on Crow" takes things down a more doom-oriented path, the band injecting noxious Southern rock chords into the arm of their buzzing, gigantic sludge. It makes for pretty heady stuff, and not the kind of thing you'd expect from the Brits; this methodical vodoo-boogie from Hell is more typical of Rwake for example.
This sense of displaced Southern pride doesn't abate after "Scales;" rather, "Steel Horse Blues (The Plight)" keeps flying the flag for Confederate-bred sludge. A wistful folk melody rambles momentarily before an utterly rocking riff ala the Sword comes in and cuts your head off. De La Cour alternates between booze-drenched crooning and hang-over shattering roars; like the best of alchoholic sludge, Dead Man's Root is perfect at keeping things between drunken mania and startling clarity exactly equal. "March of the Dugong" chugs with the mechanical plod of an old steam-engine. This unyielding groove soon devolves into a coked-out passage of shimmering clean guitars ala Mastodon's "Ole' Nessie" before assaulting you one last time with massive, brawny riffs.
All of these songs lead perfectly into the disc's center-piece epic in "Iron Whale." At an intimidating eleven minutes, the heat is on for this track to maintain a listener's overall interest throughout. Thankfully, Dead Man's Root succeeds entirely and "Iron Whale" is almost always a blast. Things kick off with deep, ominous notes, the likes of which eventually transform into driving sludge with jackhammer force behind it. With an excellent sense of dynamics amidst the general sturm 'n drang, Dead Man's Root leads "Iron Whale" through forests of expansive and crushing sludge before the whole thing is raised in a firestorm of furiously uncoiling destruction. It ends the disc on a resounding bang and definitely leaves the individual listener wanting more. Just check out the delicate and winding guitar picking towards the end and tell me I'm wrong.
With all this in mind Mouth Breather is an excellent debut from a band easily poised for greater things. While the concept of raw, low, and guitar-oriented metal is nothing new, Dead Man's Root bring an accessability to the table that few other bands in this style can match. At times brooding, at others rip-roaring, Mouth Breather is a powerful jaunt through frightening whispers and absolute breakdowns. Dead Man's Root have only just begun with this one folks, so get on the bandwagon now before it leaves the station.Dead Man's Root's Mouth Breather
1. Herbert West
2. Sailor Song
3. Indie Fags F*** Off
4. Scales on Crow
5. Steel Horse Blues (The Plight)
6. March of the Dugong
7. Iron Whale
Rating:
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