Band:	Tort
Album:	Tort
Style:	Sludge metal
Release date:	January 2012

01. Vallaha
02. Cannibals Of Ma'arrat
03. Gnosis Of The Dead
04. Fire Rose Vampira
05. Earl Estruch

So you all got into Lurk, right? Yeah, same label. Coincidence? I think not. This is some more very interesting doom metal. Granted, it's not quite as great as Lurk, but comparing Tort to what might turn out to be one of the most beastly albums of 2012 is really unfair, and frankly irrelevant, as Tort's approach is vastly different. Either way, the Total Rust label really needs to start slowing down with these awesome releases, lest someone start suspecting this reviewer might just be on the take.

The press release read something like this; "Old school doom metal mixed with sludge and thrash..." Ok, doom + sludge = easy...then...wait, did they say thrash? That can't be possible, can it? Well, it turns out it can. It's all in the riffs. Some bands say "let's play thrash", other bands say "let's play doom". Tort, on the other hand, said "let's make totally evil music, and let it go where it wants". Some times you'll see some Bolt Thrower moments, other times you'll be hearing a sort of crusty death metal fused Sleep. The album is pretty seamless to boot. They never sound uncomfortable or out of their element with whatever they decide to play, whether it be bouncy, catchy doom, furious death metal, or those more trancey out-there moments. When taking this baby for a casual spin though, the change ups seem so natural it's not something that's noticed at first glance.

That's where the problem lies. Sure, Tort never sound particularly uncomfortable or inexperienced at their variation of styles, but they do sound a bit bored or aimless at times, as if they spread themselves a little too thin. The couple of tracks on here that play over 10 minutes are oddly the least noticeable in this aspect. Usually, long-ass songs means there are going to be moments where you'll want to hit fast forward, but those moments seem to arise more during the 3 shorter tracks in this case.

Honestly, a totally awesome album, if for nothing else, the ability to conquer this variety of styles so smoothly. Sure, a little more direct execution would have been appreciated, but I suppose you can't have it all.