In their third release on Thrill Jockey in barely a year, the fraternal trio continue their trek into Appalachia-damaged stoner rock that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, yet takes their backwoods classic Sabbath through Earth sound into a realm all their own.
Across this album there are many of the expected reference points: early Sabbath sludge dirges, a hint of 1990s grunge rock, and a bit of contemporary metal here and there. But, just as it seems like a track settles into something conventional, an oddity will pop out that changes everything entirely. Even early on, on the opening "Laywayed," there is a grunge-influenced alternative plodding, not quite becoming overly murky, but definitely heading that way. Then the mix simply gets cut up seemingly at random, destroying the rhythm that had been fostered.
Some of the shorter tracks lean even more on the unlikely: "Headless Conference" picks up the rhythmic pace to an almost manic jazz one, compared to the lugubrious tracks before. Even more departing, "Heat Pleasure" has the guitar riffs fast enough to create that dull roar that early grindcore bands established themselves with.
More often though, the tracks stay somewhat wrangled in. Both "Wild Knife Night Fight" and "Honey" throw dual vocal harmonies over overdriven bass into more conventional "rock" territory, though the latter especially contrasts the twangy mountain folk sound with grimier sludge aspects, sounding like a more fleshed-out Earth from the modern era jamming with the heroin loving incarnation from some 15 years ago.
Other tracks play up the folk elements more: "Aestival" and "Seminal Shining" have a lazy, yet sinister quality to them that perfectly fits an early fall visit to rural Virginia. The twisted, schizophrenic folk arrangements are somewhat reminiscent of some of the best Angels of Light albums, but never sounds like a direct copy.
With all of this variety and experimentation, it’s refreshing to hear tracks like "Blood Pride" and "Aasstteerr" unabashedly break out the loping blues metal guitar riffs that sound like Ozzy era Sabbath in the best possible way, with just a little bit of twang: the latter bursting out from a noisy chaotic introduction. The disc’s title track pretty much encapsulates the entire album’s ethos into a single 13 minute track, getting in bass heavy sludge, dissonant guitar noise, jazzy improvisation, and pure stoner rock all together in a way that makes sense.
For a young band, Pontiak definitely has their proverbial shit together when it comes to sound and style. In the individual pieces, it might not be something that is breaking new ground or pushing the boundaries, but put together it is a catchy set of normally disparate styles that work well together here.
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