Let me say first, I love vinyl. There's just something about the warmth and tone of that beloved black plastic that can bring a quick smile to my face. Sometimes CDs just sound too polished for a style of music; fine for that emo-pop-punk shit, but heavy sludge-inspired terror music NEEDS vinyl. That was what first turned me on to this new SOD HAULER/ALDEBARAN split. This is worth the price of admission for the three SOD HAULER tracks alone. It marks a progression from their awesome 4-track self titled 2003 CD. The songs on this split seem to have less of a ‘stoner’ vibe, and more of a road rash kinda thing going on. They're darker, and more brooding. Fans of the now-defunct YOB (excuse me while I weep silently), and BONGZILLA take heed. SH can take a riff, and stretch it to the point of breaking, only to snap it back again, sometimes right into your face. Their use of building tension to elevate the songs to new levels is baffling and eerie, but also shows maturity as they move to the top of their game.

ALDEBARAN comes out of the gate with an epic 17 minute crusher “Regions of the Dead (12 Hours of Darkness)”. Right away, they set the mood with morbid synth / sampling, then hitting you with a sound like the beginning of a ROB ZOMBIE flick. Death growls coupled with a sick crawl that demonstrates what the first ST VITUS record would sound like if dipped in gravy and fed to a pack of hungry Pit Bulls. I almost felt scared listening to this, and have to admit I reached over to turn the light on. From the galloping pace the track decreases in speed slowly, giving the impression that they are steadily sucking all oxygen from the room. ALDEBARAN has recorded the soundtrack to a BTK killing if I’ve ever heard one. Fans of SUNNO)), SLEEP, and GRIEF -- go get this one.

- Murtaugh

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/sodhauler , myspace.com/aldebaran

MP3 SOUND SCRAP: SOD HAULER - Mean 18

RELATED ITEMS: No related articles at this time.