| | Full Review | Ratings (346) |
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| 5.0 classic | ZucchiniSurprise | May 13th 20 |
This record has grown on me in a huge way since I first rated it, now I can't imagine my musical landscape without it. At first I liked Isis more than Sumac, nowadays I'm thinking it's the other way around.
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| 3.7 great | Erwann S. STAFF | January 17th 20 |
Ballou-produced primal sludge, so it's heavy. Like, really really heavy, even though this thiccness is balanced with a lot of dynamic switches and an overall gripping atmosphere. This makes for a quite diverse release: pounding sludge is always cool, but it's better when the tempo is seamlessly flowing and when the hammer is not relentlessly coming at your skull. However, I found some ideas underdeveloped (that faster riff at the beginning of Blackout II should have lasted 3 more minutes) and it created a bit of frustration as those parts usually were my favourites. Great sludge nonetheless.
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| 4.5 superb | Bedex | May 10th 19 |
Holy f*ck this record is massive as f*ck. Crass, bleak post-metal with heaps of low end and fantastic guttural grows. I don't understand why this is rated so low on here. The compositions are maybe a touch simpler than say Isis' or CoL's, but they sure are efficient. Mad headbangs - Locust Star as an album. The record also has some calm phases (e.g. the end of 'Blackout' whose melody sounds exactly like Perth by Bon Iver) and lots of dynamics. Last track is probably the weakest and it's still great. 4.3
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| 3.5 great | Alabaster Jones | December 9th 16 |
Simplistic in composition yet totally enveloping in sound, sludge/post-metal/noise rock trio SUMAC are quickly eschewing the "side-project" label and sound like a project coming into realization on What One Becomes. Fronted by the ineffable Aaron Turner and helped along massively in the low end by Brian Cook and Nick Yacyshyn, there's no shortage of experience holding them back and one can hear that very clearly even in the opening minutes of "Image Of Control". These guys know what they're doing, which is why the album succeeds despite being relatively standard from a compositional standpoint. There's nothing re-inventing the wheel here, but it is definitely some of the most well-written, well-produced, and well-performed sludge albums the year has to offer, and as with many Turner projects, seems to keep getting better after every listen. It's professionally done and passionately done, and sometimes that's all you need for a great album even if it's not all that original. Oh and "Blackout" absolutely rolls.
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| 3.0 good | TheManMachine | October 2nd 16 |
At their best when razing everything in sight, which is admittedly often. The low-end riffage is more sickeningly crushing than most but certainly no crutch -- they groove hard no matter the speed and care a bit about melodies, whip out lotsa twists-n-turns, bassin' and drummin' are particularly superb, Aaron Turner's renowned roaring is righteous. But all the fidgeting, the breaks to seemingly just stand there for a moment, the momentum-maiming paths towards Whereverville, kinda just plugging stuff in for a minute or so? Concision obvz ain't their predilection at 5 tracks in nearly an hour, but a number of these traipsing detours are just plain excess, if not cumbersome. Their peak of solidifying the ol' groove+melody admixture is the 5-minute shutdown of the massive "Blackout", which eventually moves on to razing everything in sight. But how we got there, I'm not quite sure.
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| 4.0 excellent | Gbhill | May 31st 16 |
Sumac's new album contains stronger songwriting than The Deal from my initial listenings. Great live too.
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| 4.0 excellent | jlsg | October 20th 23 |
| 3.0 good | qt | February 20th 23 |
| 4.0 excellent | Timmy | January 21st 23 |
| 4.5 superb | Lvxfra | November 16th 22 |
| 4.5 superb | Jerrad | July 14th 22 |
| 2.5 average | gschwen | January 5th 22 |
| 4.0 excellent | Adol | October 22nd 21 |
| 4.5 superb | cb123 | September 26th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Martvyk | September 13th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jebull | August 27th 21 |
| 4.0 excellent | Xenoflux | December 24th 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | Phate72 | November 3rd 20 |
| 4.5 superb | Mser94 | October 3rd 20 |
| 4.0 excellent | GodL1ke | February 18th 20 |
| 3.5 great | CK1991 | January 30th 20 |
| 3.5 great | Elynna | October 12th 19 |
| 5.0 classic | jami98 | October 12th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | FakeOne | September 14th 19 |
| 4.5 superb | Rausku | August 23rd 19 |
| 4.5 superb | JOK | June 28th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | JS19 | March 17th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | crab | February 16th 19 |
| 4.0 excellent | RUSH | December 23rd 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | tycobb | September 24th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | Jamdbz | September 21st 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | Faraudo | August 2nd 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | Egarran | June 18th 18 |
| 4.0 excellent | Nikkolae | February 24th 18 |
| 3.5 great | Wizard | November 29th 17 |
| 5.0 classic | Tyll | October 30th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | clavier EMERITUS | October 22nd 17 |
| 3.5 great | hsb | October 4th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Sapee | April 30th 17 |
| 3.5 great | gilly | March 16th 17 |
| 2.5 average | 8genre | February 4th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Hawks | January 21st 17 |
| 4.5 superb | SYL | January 8th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rizzo44 | January 8th 17 |
| 4.0 excellent | Rodstar | December 20th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Questro | December 19th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Feels | December 16th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | em17ah | December 14th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | El Olam | December 11th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | N2B3J | December 10th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | Inveigh | December 8th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Anthemic | November 30th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | rid | November 24th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Swarm | November 14th 16 |
| 5.0 classic | Maniac! | November 5th 16 |
| 3.0 good | Lalka | October 26th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Radex | October 23rd 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Brandon | October 22nd 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | wwf | October 18th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Rail | October 9th 16 |
| 3.0 good | jmh886 | September 22nd 16 |
| 3.0 good | Suli | September 11th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Henry | September 6th 16 |
| 2.5 average | jtswope | September 1st 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Moraff | August 28th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | czed | August 19th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | J | August 18th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Agonba | August 16th 16 |
| 5.0 classic | loulou | August 6th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Ulshad | July 14th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | trilo | July 13th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Thibs | July 7th 16 |
| 3.5 great | neikos | June 29th 16 |
| 3.5 great | Caecus | June 22nd 16 |
| 3.0 good | Trey STAFF | June 21st 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Prole | June 21st 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Arctick | June 16th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Verlix | June 15th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Tom Read CONTRIBUTOR | June 10th 16 |
| 4.0 excellent | Greem | June 10th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | John L | June 7th 16 |
| 4.5 superb | Taxt | June 3rd 16 |
| 4.5 superb | Wolfe | May 31st 16 |
| 4.5 superb | Thor | May 5th 16 |
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