Don't look now, but at this moment in the first week of October 2007, sludge is hip. At this exact time in history, there is no better way for a pre-pubescent indie fan to flex his internet muscles than to drop names like BARONESS and MOUTH OF THE ARCHITECT in a flurry of mad abbreviations via IM's and text messages. Don't blink, or you may miss it.

Of course, to the rest of us this means nothing. It's doubtful that it means anything to Seattle sludge madmen AKIMBO; they've been cranking this stuff out for about ten years, hip or not. Sure, they may notice a slight increase in downloads over the next couple of weeks, or maybe a few extra MySpace friend requests, but that's about it. The band's name may sound exotic, but there's nothing trendy about this 10-track collection of monster stompers. While these gentlemen won't be unseating EYEHATEGOD or NOOTHGRUSH at the throne of the dark lord, the acidic vocals of Jon Weisnewski should be quite pleasing to old-school fans of the genre. Tracks like "Dungeon Bastard" and "Hiding in Paper" move deftly between trippy psych interludes and balls-out sludge power. "Wizard Van Wizard" is the keeper of the bunch, turning on a dime from mathy DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN calculus into a granite Sabs-style riff that recalls "Into the Void". There's still some room for growth, however -- "The Curse of King David" features a magnificent stormy groove, but the band stays stuck in second gear for the whole track. Here's hoping they continue to add zigs and zags to their already impressive sound.

- Marchman

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