Immeasurably heavy…
Review by Jason Guest
Release date: 1 August 2014
Birmingham’s Slab has been one of the second city’s best unsigned bands for a long time. Too long. Both 2007’s Betray The Past… Infect The Future and 2010’s Megafaunal Genocide to this day remain as strong as they were on their initial release and still bring ever-rewarding returns with every play. Four years on and 2014 sees Slab back with Ten Human Jawbones and like its predecessors, this is one intense track after another. Each an array of intricate and concentrated riffs and rhythms ranging from the straight ahead obstinacy of hardcore and the anarchic intelligence of punk to the complex, the progressive, and the ruthlessly barbarous elements of extreme metal, musically and lyrically, this is immeasurably heavy.
A bunch of ruthless riffs and grooves and Jake’s vein-popping vocal in their armoury, Slab give you only a few moments to take your finger off the play button before they kick the shit out of you. Digging deep into the dirt, the tracks are intricately woven into structures that simultaneously maintain the intensity and let the music breathe and develop in an organic manner. Take ‘Yeti Heart’ and ‘Involution’, the first a ninety seven second blast, the second a near-ten minute epic. While both are every bit as biting and raging, they exemplify the extremes that Slab can work comfortably and effectively within. Whether a clenched fist, in-for-the-kill approach or an extended darkly meditative and evolving piece, Slab have got it nailed.
With Jake hammering out the riffs and Andy and Jim fleshing out the low end, as a trio, Slab sound even bigger with this release – even bigger than before. Refined and aggressive, they are a lethal combination and Ten Human Jawbones is an album that speaks for itself. Slab is a band that we should be hearing and seeing more of. Make it happen. Do the music scene a favour. Buy this and spread the word.
9 out of 10
Track listing:
- Animist
- Blindeye
- Westerling
- Remote Viewing
- Troglobyte
- Corpse Hunter
- Stone Forest
- Yeti Heart
- Involution
- Cult Of Ignorance
