Norwegian noise rock band, Årabrot, combine their usual noisy flavor with sludge metal and some outlandish vocal work to produce a perdition perfect album. 

Given that there is spectacular noise rock scene at the moment where bands like Iceage and Melt-Banana are cultivating unique sounds ranging from brooding ballads to sporadic symphonies, Årabrot comes with a sound that is as ugly as the opener of that new Death Grips LP i recently reviewed.

The sludge metal elements found on this album are heavy. The guitar riffs are bassy and drag like molasses whilst the vocals are visceral at times but the frontman, Nibby Needle, can seamlessly segway to moans that sound like an Arabian hymn. 

Speaking of Arabian influences, the track “Throwing Rocks at the Devil” has a guitar motif that is reminiscent of some middle eastern persuasion which just contributes to the mix bag of influences this album presents at such a loud and abrasive volume. This is succeeding the shots of guitar sounds accompanied by some thundering kick drums. After the intro, we’re introduced to the dramatic vocals that spaz out over the spectrum– this track is probably the apex of this album. 

However, this album does come with a set of potholes. At times the songs get a bit cartoony and laughable such as “The Horns Of The Devil Grows” that sounds like a B-Side from a Dethklok LP. Which would be totally fine if the band didn’t go to such lengths to be undesirable and serious… I’d leave the torture and melancholy to Iceage as these guys come up short in that department when compared to the Danish Post-Punk prodigies.

When the album is not suffering from psuedo-sadness, they fall victim to the poor production. A number of these tracks have vocals being swallowed by heavy drum beats or overpowering bass lines rendering the songs as distorted and squeezed as Gucci Mane’s “Swing My Door”. 

There are some other highlights such as “Ha-Satan Defol” and “The Bitter Tears of Könt” but for every great song, there is either an underwhelming or overwhelming (in a bad way) song neutralizing it thus leaving my enjoyment of this album a bit limited. 

2.5/5