A slow burn is like nothing else out there. A tremendously done build-up with a powerful peak and satisfying ending is what excellence can effortlessly be made out of, and sludge metal has always been expert at delivering such intensity when given the correct approach. Without compromise or fear can a sludge band dive right into the abyss and deliver a performance that is as impactful as it is intense right from the beginning with the pacing oftentimes being a focal point that many bands use to their advantage. With their latest offering, The Weir more than capitalizes on that concept with a pair of tracks that’s simply bewildering to behold.

It’s been far too long since I’ve come before a new name (at least, new to me) of sludge that knows how to take its time and know how to extrapolate that into an aggressive experience that is masterful at taking its time, ensuring that nothing gets boring, and the heaviness never once lets up. That’s the sort of calculated madness that the underground was truly made for with incredibly few able to deliver it in such a meaningful capacity that never once wastes a moment and is always ready to make things run their course no matter how long it takes, and The Weir more than delivers on that premise. It’s just two tracks that they bring to the fold with “Grasping”, but it is in every possible way that The Weir more than shows us how they can bring the majestic darkness in such an overwhelming capacity with all that’s summoned for this creation as it is every given aspect that lends to the overall intensity at work here. Suffering no fools and always a suffocating experience as the very light of day slowly but surely shrinks from our sight, it’s in the black waters of “Grasping” that the slow, methodical nature of The Weir’s terrifying patience is always hitting its mark even if they work from the shadows that are always pure and overwhelming so long as this band has anything to say about it.

Devastation of a slow breed is the most intimidating kind and one that we rarely ever see coming, and The Weir knows how to capitalize on it as every possible turn with so much as a care for what may find within the black abyss. Oppressive in its aural assaults and downright terrifying for what lies deeper within, “Grasping” leaves the listener doing just that as the water rises and there’s nothing left but the fading light of day to remind you that it is all slipping as the weight only greatens as you fall further within.

LISTEN to “Grasping” on Bandcamp here.

LIKE The Weir on Facebook here.