Swarm of the Lotus remind me of a poor man's Mastodon in that they both write gargantuan riffs that absolutely stomp you, but Swarm of the Lotus also experiment with sludge and those introspective, emotional, 'calm before the storm' type interludes that Neurosis or Isis do. The atmosphere created by this record is awe-inspiring. I implore fans of acts like Neurosis, Isis, the Southern Lord roster and any other artists whose goal is to fully engulf you in driving emotion to give these guys a shot.

As soon as the album begins, the band�s new sonic design becomes clear. It's not quite as sludgy or as brutalizing as the heavy chunks of down tuned riffery that were littered across their previous works. Everything is a bit more methodical and the mid-'90s noisecore influence is allowed more room to bend the songs in ways that haven�t been heard from this outfit. The drumming, the drummer being a new addition, is not as forceful and pounding but it still fits the music like a glove with easy to follow patterns that stick close to a primitive aggression instead of a needless blast. And then, there�s the biggest change, dual vocalists, which adds yet another dynamic element to the music that is already leaps and bounds past their peers. Add that songwriting virtue to their songs that are able to cover three genres seemingly at once and you have an energetic, creative, and above all damn good album that will immediately make its mark on your first listen.

If you like gigantic crawling groovy riffs that are found all over sludge, you need to own this. Heck, if you love extremely brutal music this is a must have.