4 out of 5

Label: Hydra Head

Producer: Steve Heritage (Cavity), Keith Souza (Cable), Kurt Ballou (Jesuit), Morgan Walker (Overcast)

Well I dunno why Vol. 4 gets two 7″s, but this is another mighty slab of rock, deliciously delivered by 4 heavyweights… except… except man I can’t but be disappointed by Cable’s contribution, the instrumental ‘Planet Caravan’.  I’m sure if I were a Sabbath fan I’d recognize the dreary and gloomy little strum that barely lasts long enough to realize it’s a song… I guess the original has some distorted vocals, but I can’t detect them here, though my record player (and the volume on it) sorta sucks, so mayhaps I ain’t getting the full effect.  Either way, 3 out of 4 of these are awesome rockers, highlighting Cavity’s use of feedback and space for an excellent Sturm & Drang delivery of ‘Into the Void,’ (so goddamn good) and though I’m not familiar with Jesuit they do the most straight-ahead damage with ‘Hole in the Sky,’ quick and dirty cut by Ballou, giving it a clean sound that nonetheless leaves room for brutality.  And reading a little bit about Overcast it sounds like this must’ve been a pleasure for fans, as they were a classic thrash band who came and went.  Their cover of ‘National Acrobat’ is awesome, and you’d never figure the band for some kind of elders in the scene, as fresh as they sound.  (And understanding that ‘elders’ is all relative, and that those dudes went on to other acts like Shadows Fall, but ANYWAY)  The track burns through some harsh guitar and yowlps before delivering a tried and true guitar solo, the style of which we don’t often get in metal.

Wrapped in a pretty bi-fold with gorgeous silver-embossed script.