Anything that I would ever consider to label as “sludge rock” even a little is always interesting listen as well as being something that’s just hard to pin down in general because that covers a wide base. Even then, bands that meet such criteria usually try different things at the same time as if fusing sludge and rock wasn’t an interesting enough combination. No band does that concept better than what we see in the upcoming effort from Escape Is Not Freedom as we can see all over the place that it’s ripe for opportunities left and right, but also a careful dance to maneuver.

To say that Escape Is Not Freedom went a little all over the place when they were making “Surrounded By the Great Nothing” would be putting it mildly, to say the least. Whereas that cover art would’ve convinced me otherwise, there’s no denying here that Escape Is Not Freedom has put on one hell of a display with this album the likes of which many other “sludge rock” bands wish they could accomplish, but, even then, it’s filled with its own fair share of pitfalls. They normally come in the form of the occasional clumsy execution, but they’re rare enough such that they’re a hurdle that can be stepped right over and the good shit of “Surrounded By the Great Nothing” can really shine without any hindrance. Just as easily as they can give us something that could be likened more to post-rock, Escape Is Not Freedom is not afraid whatsoever to make things nastier and grittier with stupendous results in just about every form as they’re handled magnificently from beginning to end. There’s loads of inspiration all throughout the album which you can really hear in the diversity that’s brought to the table in each track whether it’s a nasty rhythm or a mesmerizing riff or something in between, and it’s at virtually every turn that “Surrounded By the Great Nothing” pulls it off without a hitch with such quality that would make many other bands trying to do the same thing wonder how it could be done so well.

All of that comes together to quickly shine out whatever negatives Escape Is Not Freedom accidentally makes and we can really sink our teeth into this album to really appreciate what a treat we got here. “Surrounded By the Great Nothing” has tons to enjoy no matter what angle you’re looking at it from, and I can only see this band honing their craft into something absolutely deadly should they really fucking go for it.

“Surrounded by the Great Nothing” releases on April 1st!

LISTEN to an advanced track from “Surrounded by the Great Nothing” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE Escape Is Not Freedom on Facebook here.