Album Review: Rowsdower – The Michael Jordans of Suicide (Sludgelord Records)

West Coast doom trio Rowsdower bring crushingly heavy riffs and a signature sound pioneered by the three’s previous bands Black Sheep Wall and Admiral Angry.

Their debut album “The Michael Jordans of Suicide” will be released on limited blackberry purple cassette via Sludgelord Records on August 2nd 2019, as well as the usual digital outlets.

Deep and dark enough to churn the stomach and make you feel ill, Rowsdower are part of the new breed of doom. The kind of doom that sticks itself to the mind like a blood-sucking leech. Utter filth, the fuzz and feedback of the guitars is mind-numbing and the wild screeches and roars of the vocals send shivers down spines.

This is ten tracks of brutalising noise that will fill many with revulsion all while being curious enough to look time and time again.

New Old sets the stage with deep bass rumblings and an intensity that terrifies before THE HIT takes the vocals in a different direction with a clean, almost-spoken word effort. All while the guitars hit like a rock to the head.

It’s a strong start but then we get the techno garbage that is Men II Boyz. A waste of time that does nothing for this album, its one saving grace is that it’s short.

After that rubbish, it’s PCP Homeboy (I Am The Black Wizard) and AUM who right the ship. Both lengthy and massive sounding tomes of horrid noise that is on par with the best of doom released this year. The latter in particular is so fuzzy, it’s near choking.

A break is needed after that and while Stone Her still has titanic riffs, it’s less intrusive and shorter.

We then get another intermission with Track 8 and the sound of a woman having sex while a TV plays in the background. Is it When Harry Met Sally? I don’t know, I’ve never seen the film but it sounds like Billy Crystal. Yeah, it’s there and it breaks up the doom but once again is pointless.

With all the power of the end times, Set it Down hits and hits hard. Yet that pales in comparison to what comes with the finale. 8444-RAP-TURE is over 13 and a half minutes long and would you believe it? It’s utterly brilliant. Spell-binding doom, moving at a glacial pace and but all the intensity of having Rowsdower playing directly in your face.

Rowsdower – The Michael Jordans of Suicide Full Track Listing:

1. Reginal Crimes
2. New Old
3. THE HIT
4. Men II Boyz
5. PCP Homeboy (I Am The Black Wizard)
6. AUM
7. Stone Her
8. Track 8
9. Set it Down
10. 8444-RAP-TURE

Links

Rowsdower Bandcamp | Rowsdower Facebook | Rowsdower Instagram | Sludgelord Records Bandcamp | Sludgelord Records Facebook | Sludgelord Records Instagram