Of boy bands and sludge

How exactly a sludge/doom band adopted the same name as a boy band I suppose isn't the most important thing about this band, and certainly something that's been pointed out so many times before it's incredibly unfunny by now, but... c'mon, what the fuck?

Anyways, the 5ive in question (or 5ive's Continuum Research Project as I believe they are now known, for reasons entirely unrelated to the pop group, I am certain) are an instrumental sludge/doom duo from Boston, who yes, you're right, can be compared to Pelican in that both bands write vocal-less epics with molasses-thick guitar tone. This is something you'll dig if you're into the whole Neur-Isis set of bands ("post-metal" or "metalgaze" or whatever god-awful portmanteau you want to sick upon this sound), or if you just wanna straight-up smoke a bowl and orchestrate it with some sludgy, stoner riffage.

The thing that, for me, really sets this band apart, besides the plain fucking awesome riffs is the drumming. One thing that almost prevents from fully enjoying a similarly-styled album, The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw (by Pelican, natch) is the drumming. It's so thin and bland and if there's anything interesting going on, it's overshadowed by the guitar work. 5ive is a duo, and while the guitar is absolutely huge, the drums are, both literally and sonically, responsible for half of the sound, and they establish themselves from the get-go. After the faux-drone into in "Gulls", when the riffing comes, the bass drum makes it's presence felt and makes sure the low-end dominates for the rest of the record. My drum terminology is at best uneducated and at worst flat-out fucking wrong, but Charlie Harrold definitely seems to focus on creating huge rolling tom/bass backgrounds which, compared to others in the genre, is really damn awesome. Not that he doesn't mix it up, mind you; the uplifting cymbal smattering on "Polar 78" is entirely responsible for the song's feeling and direction.

Not to put the guitar aside; after all, Ben Carr is the entire rest of the band, and has six strings to compete with a whole drum kit, and does a perfect job with a huge, fuzzed out tone that is de rigueur of the genre. I'd be curious to see if it holds up without the benefit of studio overdubbing, but as the record stands, it sounds fantastic. And goddamn, if "Gulls" isn't one of the cooler riffs I've head in a while, although by and large this album seems more focused on a wall of sound than distinct riffing, which is absolutely fine by me.

As if you needed more motivation to buy the record, the cover art is absolutely fantastic.

So it seems my school's internet is hella slow, to the point of barely functioning, for some reason. MP3's will be uploaded later tonight, sometime after 9.