Beastwars - Blood Becomes Fire (2013)

Hailing from New Zealand, upstart sludge band Beastwars already show on their second album that they can tangle with some of the best in the genre even as the best are influencing them. In particular, the presence of High on Fire seems to permeate almost the entire record and the phenomenal vocalist Matt Hyde sounds an awful lot like Matt Pike. (They were even selected to tour their homeland with HoF.)  But reducing this band to the status of a mere HoF imitator would be doing them an injustice since they do in fact put their own unique touch on the album as is most apparent on the very psychedelic "The Sleeper." This album and the debut both demonstrate how much potential this band has within the relatively unsaturated sludge market and, as with HoF, their ability to attract fans from outside the genre. I will admit that some songs felt a bit tedious and could have been more varied, but I still really liked this album and will probably enjoy even more after repeated listens. "Blood Becomes Fire" might just turn out to be the sludge record of the year.
8.5/10