I've been waiting a while for a soundtrack to the raw emotions of these days of doom and denial. I think I may have found it. Merlock radiates despair, anger and, almost inexplicably, a curious hope. In the press notes, a band member describes this set as "an expulsion of filth." Yes! Hot damn. Just what my ears have been craving.

Merlock that which speaks . . . (self-released)

Unlike most doomsters, Merlock uses a bright, psychedelic sheen, which highlights the band's strong prog tendencies. A couple of reviews have called this "sludge gaze" (the band is from Seattle, a place well acquainted with the sludge sound), and I suppose that does cover the churning rhythms and spacey guitars. But these songs are much more positively propulsive than stuff like Melvins.

There is a decided punk influence in the playing. And at some point using a description like punk-prog-psychedelic-death metal-doom-(whatever) is probably unwieldy. Not unlike Caustic Casanova, Merlock doesn't adhere to any proscriptions on its sound. Rather, it simply goes out and kicks ass.

The four songs on this "EP" clock in at thirty minutes, so that's definitely doomy. The carnage within caterwauls about in combinations that I've not heard before. Some of it is the sludge factor, I suppose, but the prog elements are exceptional--imagine Weedeater playing Fates Warning songs, and I think you might begin to understand. However you want to categorize this, I'm always in favor of music that is both mind-blowing and mind-expanding. A true thrill ride.

Jon Worley