With their Lord Of The Rings-indebted name and eye for terrible album artwork you could be forgiven for dismissing Zirakzigil’s second full-length.
But to do so would be a mistake, because this Portland, Oregon band – who recorded this album with Billy Anderson in 2014 and self-released it 2015, only to have Prosthetic snap it up for re-release – have plenty to offer those who enjoyed Baroness’s Red Album. Zirakzigil’s sludge metal, which has been given Anderson’s cavernous depth of sound, is open-ended, and the band cite 70s prog rock as an inspiration. This influence is evident from their jam-based style, since evolving song structures are tempered by an abundance of rolling sludge riffs and rhythms. At times, though, the trio try to shoehorn too many ideas into the one song and lose impact and direction. If they can maintain their adventurous spirit while writing more concisely, we could have something special on our hands.
