PINEWALKER "Migration"

PINEWALKER

“Migration”

There are not many new sludge metal bands that impress me these days, but Utah’s PINEWALKER are one. It may perhaps be due to Utah’s isolation from any big “scene”, but “Migration” shows a degree of songwriting and imagination that is rare in this kind of music, especially considering this is a debut.

There are seven tracks here and each one has a separate identity...not one can be compared to any others. They really put some thought into this. Sure, some riffs seem familiar but even those seem to be handled with care. If you could imagine what MASTODON would have sounded like if they had the crushing heaviness of HIGH ON FIRE or CROWBAR, you’d have something close to PINEWALKER.

The album boasts both long and short songs. PINEWALKER is adept at both. Best track for me is one of the shortest, the bone crushing riff monster “Burning Earth”. A scream of rage due to the planet melting because of human stupidity, this thing just flattens everything in sight. Devastating, monstrous heavinesss with no subtlety at all. But you’ll find that subtlety in the epic “Maelstrom”, which starts quietly and builds up layers of intensity until the last two minutes of the song explode. This approach is also used in the haunting instrumental “Space Witch” and final cut “The Thaw”...these are actual SONGS that are put together according to a plan and which end with mighty crescendos.

Lots of interesting things to discover here, like the swampy Southern feel of “Bone Collector” or the chugging “Self vs. Self”. Vocals are often bull-like bellowing but can feature effective clean singing as well. There are some riffs that are, shall we say, well worn and this might be the one drawback here. But considering this is a debut, PINEWALKER have a lot to be proud of.

PINEWALKER