From the start of Australian sludge-metal Clagg’s 2009 effort Lord of the Deep it’s abundantly clear that this is going to be a moody musical venture. While there are times I find sludge to be too steeped in boring or repetitive riffs, every now and again I find myself completely immersed in an album that paces itself well and reverberates in both sound and resonance.

While not somber enough to warrant a ‘doom’ effort on all points, Clagg’s genuine foray into the drop-tuned mire of melancholy provides a thick pallor of introspection where stagnation might otherwise take shape. I do find it surprising that a band of such a high caliber has issued an EP, three full-length albums and a live album and is not yet signed. I will further add that Clagg might not be for just anyone; if your attention span wanes and you like you music ‘basic’ and with a sort of ‘in-and-out’ feel, then Clagg’s 16-minute opus in “Carrion” might not be for you. The band is hardly a Grateful Dead type in that the music seems to stagnate and lull me into boredom’s bosom, but it is certainly a force of enjoyment for the metalhead that enjoys a long, thought-provoking track (or four) that can not only carry the tone of an album but keep the listener mightily engaged.

Lord of the Deep is not so much a potpourri of sound as it is a collective fitting a style that is similar throughout, but shape-shifting evenly and at seemingly perfect intervals. “Lord of the Deep” host two parts and is 15-minutes of tumultuousness through D-chords and mildly abrasive and sustaining notes that capture well the feelings of unease. There are poignant moments of deep-seated serendipity, especially at the nine-minute mark in the track that seems to literally breathe on its own and force a catharsis that we might not even see coming, from wells we might have not known open. As a venture of ‘sludge’ this is one of the better experiences I’ve had with the genre and I certainly will be checking out the band’s back catalog as well.

Vocalist Scotti has a harsh, almost black metal rasp at time and then covets the mood with a dark death metal tone that offers total compliance to the bleak mood of some of the music’s more beleaguered spots. For his part, this is the absolute perfect way to approach such vocals over this type of music; with ample room for interpretative free-play, the vocals then become complimentary to the music, not the other way around, usually a disastrous mistake for many bands of similar ilk. This band is enjoyable on so many levels, but cerebrally and sonically are the two most encompassing for me. “The Harvest” is where Scotti further shows his mettle in a low Ozzy-like delivery that drives a railroad spike into your cranium in slow, 2-4 timed tempo. Versatility makes Clagg’s music worth checking out.

Clagg’s brand of sludge metal will appeal to the masses that are easily stupefied by majesty through musical composition and low, nearly subliminal-level tones that not only pull you into a world of unrest and calamity, but also into a web of thought and mental uniformity, the latter accounting for all of the beauty and perfection herein.  

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  Carrion
2.  Lord of the Deep: Part I -
     They Dream Fire Part II -
     At the Rising of the Storm
3.  Buried
4.  The Harvest
5.  Devour the Sun

Total playing time:  01:06:49

Release Date: July 10, 2010
Label: Obsidian Records

Clagg - Lord of the Deep

Reviewer: Chris

May 23, 2011