Swarm of the Lotus utilize loads and loads of agonized screams and some of the best discordant elements of the hardcore guitar sound. Mixed with slow doom like Sleep or Yob resulting in agonized songs that are ready to burst by the end or they choose the faster groove with rhythmic syncopation. What you get, other than the swelling feeling of chaos in slow motion, is a disc that is hugely diverse, extremely cool and equally difficult to listen to. Some albums just take a lot of time, and this is definitely one of them, but the payoff is huge because When White Becomes Black has all the depth of a heavy doom disc and the hard-charging rock element of good hardcore.

The beats and tempo changes come quick and erratic, Swarm of the Lotus craftily work some nice slo-mo grooves into the doomy noise chaos and as the disc progresses, it's clear that this is definitely their forte judging by the Helmet-like guitar and lethargic beats. The noisy, unpredictable sound continues as it morphs between Slayer-like intensity and a slow, bludgeoning Melvins crawl. Regardless of what you call it, this is heavy with a capital fucking H.

Caustic, abrasive and technical, Swarm of the Lotus tread the same fine line of musical boundaries as Mastodon, Uphill Battle, Burst, Burnt By the Sun and even Soilent Green. What struck me most about Swarm of the Lotus is the discordant and chaotic noise never seems to be radically off key or push the limits of technicality; their sound, while certainly complex and discordant, retains an earthy, molten punch that makes each song physically memorable.

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