Valume Nob
The Most High
7.4
So I think the question we need to ask here is: how bad can a band with members from Down, Crowbar, and Bile be? What if said band began a release with the sounds of a didgeridoo? What if...they were nicknamed "the lords of loud"? What if...their logo had an anarchy symbol and an inverted pentagram incorporated into the lettering?
The answer? They can't be bad. There isn't a chance in the world. Did you notice the logo? Did you? Anarchy symbol with an inverted pentagram?
With an extremely deceptive and almost meditational drone beginning the track, "Pleasant Memories", Valume Nob bursts into a display of heavy, high-energy, hardcore punk. It's dirty downtuned hardcore from the land of swampy misery, New Orleans. The fourth track "Boots", a thrash anthem with a thunderous sludgy breakdown, shows a bit of their roots while retaining their tough and energetic sound. The production's done well on both the studio and live tracks, with a lot of low crunchy tones that come off sounding heavy but not cluttered or muddy. Recruiting Crash Music to release the album nationally, there's four crushing new songs on the EP, two live songs, and a DVD interview they've tacked on.
The only negative thing I can think of to say about the EP is that it's an EP. You're simply going to want more. Fans of this style are going to eat it up, while probably everyone else who reads this website is going to whine and complain about the reviewing of a hardcore release on here. So, anyone who's a fan of good, heavy, old-school hardcore with sludgy breaks should get a hold of The Most High, otherwise you should still get a hold of it and spend hours learning to appreciate it.
