Their sound is very sludgy on the outside with massive amounts of volume and downright monolithic riffs, but there is a lot more sonic force at work here than just sludge. The songs are winding and often times the heavy riffs and intensity give way to chilling acoustic sections that are calming and eerie at the same time. This reminds me overall of Isis' Oceanic in the way that the whole album comes together to create this powerful atmosphere that sticks with you for days. Each songs melds seamlessly together with the next, creating this ebb and flow that keeps going until the epic title track closes the album appropriately.

This record is largely instrumental in parts, but there are still plenty of stressed out vocals on board, only adding to the atmosphere. The vocals deliver good variety from high-pitched screams to gruff, thundering shouts that all work perfectly with the epic song structures. I just love the way the songs build to crushing climaxes and will somehow find a way to calm you down with subtle acoustics and then explode all over again.

If you dig stuff like Rwake, Isis, Keelhaul and Eyes of Fire, you'll have a field day with Deadbird. They've got all kinds of crazy, angular riffs and weird changes going on in their sound, but with a foot planted deep in rock and roll territory. A masterpiece of sludge, rock and complex metal sounds, definitely one of the best albums this year.

~Read reviews of this album?
~Post your own review?