Tree of Sores

Tree of Sores rightfully take their place amid the sea of awesome bands of almost every ilk spewing out of Leeds at the moment (See Eagulls, Antares, Slowcoaches and Humanfly for an interesting cross-section). The order of the day is pounding, atmospheric walls of sound that owe a lot to Times of Grace/Through Silver in Blood-era Neurosis with suitably grim male and female vocals. The overall atmosphere is most certainly dark and rarely seems contrived, the possible exception being the fourth track From Within. The brooding vibe conjured up by Tree of Sores pays off and the band have shaped for themselves a distinctive sound despite obvious influences. Closing track Silent Scream transcends it's slightly cheesy title and provides a satisfying end to a well-rounded release.

If Tree of Sores worked on how they could better incorporate their supposed crust influence and introduce more varied and unpredictable tempos then they would stand out as something really special. As it is, their self-titled EP (out on Witch Hunter Records on February 21st) makes for a really entertaining listen and shows some real signs of potential and ability. It's definitely worth purchasing the release when it's out and I look forward to catching them live sometime soon

Witch Hunter Records

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Blogspot Reshuffle

My current affairs ramblings will now go on ATTN Magazine. What will get posted here is reviews and anything else that takes my fancy. Adam.

Flatlands

Flatlands
The fact that I've only heard two albums made in 2010 that I've not been involved with is made bearable by the fact that one of them is the final Flatlands release. For the uninitiated, Flatlands were one of the most original and unrelentingly heavy English bands. After years of touring, two albums and a number of EPs, splits etc. they split up in the summer and have moved on to other things.

Their self-titled EP is a fitting obituary for the band. The crushing riffs, accompanied by trademark screams that one can only assume are on the subject of the Lincolnshire countryside, fade into equally haunting clean passages. All the elements that have helped to make Flatlands the most exciting English band for the past few years are present and accounted for. One of the main developments in Flatlands' later work is the incorporation of guitarist Gareth Hughes clean vocals and, while the vocals on the final track (South by South Holland) bear more than a passing resemblance to many iLiKETRAiNS songs, these efforts help to add another dynamic to the Flatlands sound.

The breakup of Flatlands subsequent to the recording of this EP serves to add poignancy to their final recordings. And really, who couldn't love a band with a song called "This is Woodhall Sparta". 9