Sent directly from the man himself, this six track EP features Vaarwel (Frozen Ocean, Goatpsalm) on vocals and Postie handling the guitars, bass, drum programming, background vocals and mixing. It's a two man project, which of course I'm quite familiar with, also being in one. The difference here is that Big Guns is a much different record from that of Frozen Ocean or Goatpsalm, being that this is far removed from any kind of black metal, atmospheric pieces or electronics. The band consider themselves a rock n' roll band mixed with death metal and hot pepper, which is definitely what I'm getting here. The grooves are as heavy as the blues-influence, which really rolls in around “Pearl-Jammed” until the whole thing becomes that of a Cannibal Corpse-esque performance which I would have never expected. Vaarwhel has one hell of a growl, which is about as deep and mountainous as any I've heard in this business. I'm not a huge fan of some of the more spoken word portions, but these guys stormed past me like a runaway train during the first couple of cuts. From “Hard As Tin” to “Grammar Guerillas” you're be literally hammered with grooves, as well as a extremely thick drumming performance. If you hadn't told me that these drums were programmed, I'd have never guessed. This record in general sounds incredibly, warm, thick and meaty, like you'd expect from looking at the album cover. I would have never expected a death n' roll band to come from this group, but I can't say that I'm displeased with it. There are a couple sections that might need to be ironed out, but there's plenty of enjoyment here in it's eleven-minute playing time. The disc is heavily fast-paced, but it certainly has moments in which to slowly burn and remind me a little of bands like EyeHateGod, Down and Pantera. Except for the fact that it's a bit heavier. There's even a Six Feet Under similarity to the album's final track (a real groove-monster) called “Dragon Hedge” but it sounds far better than anything Six Feet Under have released in several years, certainly recently (but don't get me started on that again.) Short, but brandishly burly and incessantly pummeling, you're definitely going to want to give this one a listen. It's only three bucks, so pick it up!
(6 Tracks, 11:00)
8/10
good music
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