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Buzzoven - Violence From The Vault

Rating

RIYL

Weedeater
Eyehategod
Bongzilla
Corrosion of Conformity

Release Date

01/05/2010

Label

Relapse

Tracklist

1. Mainline
2. Paintake
3. Breed
4. Nod
5. I Never

Buzzoven’s Violence From The Vault EP is not a selection of new material from these legendary sludgesters as such—it is a collection of songs recorded with the group’s original line-up after the release of their classic record Sore. Brought to light after fifteen years by the good people at Relapse, this EP showcases the group in their blood-shot, teeth-clenched, heroin heyday—a band that represented the most baleful, vitriolic, and downright caustic incarnation of sludge ever put to tape. While the contents of the disc don’t measure up to Sore by any means, they are an interesting time capsule and deserve to be heard, provided the relatively poor sound quality doesn’t deter you.

Opening track “Mainline” rides the band’s signature brand of sludge fronted by vocalist Kirk Fisher’s ragged, witchy vocals. The guitar riffs burn a mid-paced, Southern-fried track through the song, tumbling into depths of neurosis and depravity, bristling with not-too-subtle malice and the promise of the South gone horribly awry. “Paintake” is a more punk-oriented track, bursting through the odd wash of feedback with ferocious acrimony, anchored by the band’s innards-loosening low-end. Next, witness “Breed,” another aggressive, if somewhat redundant, track that gives way to the doomy slow-burn of “Nod.” The song is a crawling, sinister jeremiad where you actually feel as if you are being pulled into the depths of addiction. It is utterly hopeless, with Fisher moaning such uplifting lyrics as, “I take the needle and I die again,” over the top of clanging percussion, groaning bass, and a slew of unstrung ambient noise. The EP closes with “I Never,” a bitter, angsty punk song that’s really only a minute and a half long after you get through all of the nonsense feedback and noise. It’s an afterthought and doesn’t hold up too well versus some of the tracks on the earlier part of the disc.

This is an EP that is worth the price of admission for the riffs in “Mainline” alone; on top of that there are some other aspects of the disc that make it worthwhile. It is an intriguing time piece that shows some rarities of one of the all-time sludge greats. “Mainline” and “Paintake” are as good as anything Buzzoven has ever done. “Nod” is downright unnerving, even after all these years.

There are several downsides to the disc, however. The recording quality is exactly as it was in 1995 when the songs were recorded, with no mastering done to the tracks. This can sometimes detract from the more powerful moments of the disc. Also, many of the songs suffer from inconsistency or underdevelopment of thought—really only the first two tracks seem to be complete. The others have glaring holes in them. That said, those songs do have their moments and this is a collection of some unreleased or rare material by the band, not a proper new release, so inconsistency has to be expected to some degree. The good news is, though, that the upsides of this EP outweigh the downsides; there are enough standout moments to warrant your attention. An interesting disc that showcases a classic band with their original line-up, Violence From The Vault is a good but non-essential listen. It's probably for die-hard fans only.

--Jake Oliver

Author

Jacopo ebolarama Olivares

Last updated: 02/19/2010 08:37AM