Rockfreaks.net

Buzzov*en

Violence From The Vaults (EP)

Written by: EW on 11/02/2010 19:20:15

Another of those releases from a band (or most likely, label) conjuring up old material that will appeal only to die-hard fans of the artist in question; this time is Buzzov*en's "Violence From The Vault" EP. I've really only best known Buzzov*en as a linked artist to sludgy bands like Weedeater and Sourvein down the years rather than any music of their own, and this five-track EP, actually recorded around 1995, is not going to help change that matter a great deal. Effectively sounding like a poor man's Electric Wizard, and a very poorly produced one in that case if this release is anything to go by, "Mainline", "Paintake" and "Breed" all open with scratchy samples before rolling into a concoction of bass-heavy sludge tunes that feature virtually no musical landmarks or points of interest whatsoever against more successful proponents of the style like the 'Wizard and Crowbar.

It is with "Nod" however that my patience runs out and the EP's mark drops from an average to a poor one. At first I thought the druggy sloppy EW (not my own, of course) riffs plodded out in the first few minutes would lead to something...but 10 minutes in and still nothing has happened. The mumbling and rumbling is a waste of time and quickly becomes a negative, rather than neutral, influence on the EP as a whole. Closer "I Never" begins in desperately similar fashion, before breaking into some typical sludgy doom for the final minute, making me determined not to sit through it again. Well, I have, and again too; enough time to reassure you dear reader not to spend your money on this, unless you really, REALLY love Buzzov*en.

Download: err…Paintake
For The Fans Of: Sludge doom
Listen: Myspace

Release date: 11.01.2010
Relapse Records