Band:	Dukatalon
Album:	Involuntary Action
Style:	Sludge metal
Release date:	January 2020

01. Above The Flames
02. No Consolation
03. Conscience Bleeds
04. Dark Pool
05. Involuntary Action
06. Blackened Disease
07. Myopia
08. Angels In Red
09. Quicksand Warning

At their current rate, Dukatalon won't have to navigate their difficult third album until 2030. Involuntary Action should hopefully mean that said record is greeted with slightly more fanfare.

This Israeli three-piece's debut, Saved By Fear, was released in 2010 and warmly reviewed by BitterCOld; however, despite dropping on New Year's Day 2020, I only came across Involuntary Action 2 days ago, and subsequently found the album to have zero ratings, comments or list entries. It's understandable that a decade of silence after releasing your debut might result in a band being lost in the sands of time, particularly given the vast quantity of new acts that have emerged in the meantime. Nevertheless, it's unfortunate that Involuntary Action hasn't received greater attention, as it's a really damn fine sludge record.

Dukatalon can easily be classified as a sludge band; however, this isn't quite the dirty Southern rock-infused sound of something like last year's Hollow Leg record. The thick, dense low-end muscle of their sound is used to summon up volcanic mid-tempo riffs that pound and pummel, rather than grooving in the manner that more classic sludge bands do. The album is packed full of these meaty riffs, but the main touch that helps to distinguish the sound here from that of similar bands is the inspired integration of subtle cleaner melodic guitar work amidst the fire and fury of everything else. For instance, "Above The Flames", the first song on the record, follows up a particularly stampeding riff (powered on by the thunderous drumming) with a slower, slicker groove that switches back and forth with increasingly prominent clean guitar, which eventually transforms into a full-blown guitar solo. It doesn't last for long, with the song rounded out with yet another pounding riff, but the breather it offers acts a tasteful contrast to the dense sound that comprises the rest of the song.

There's more extensive melodic guitar work in the latter third of "Conscience Bleeds", enabling the song to transition from a bleak, malicious onslaught into a more atmospheric, spacious, emotive listen. Some songs will subtly slide it into the mix, whereas others will dedicate whole stretches for it, such as the opening and closing minutes of the title track. "Dark Pool" offers both, with a muted melodic line adding contrast to a thick, pulsating riff before everything slows right down for a more audible clean guitar bit above a doomy, murky grind.

These more melodic or atmospheric inclinations nicely contrast the riff onslaught that comprises the vast majority of the record. "No Consolation" does include riffs that contain some of the Southern swagger of classic sludge; however, these alternate between dense double-bass bludgeonings. "Conscience Bleeds", in contrast, pummels the listener right out of the gate, and features a thunderous tom workout by Maayan Henik on drums (the percussion is a major highlight of this record, even given the abundance of quality riffs and the fiery vocal performance). The only real pause on the record outside of "Involuntary Action" is the brief acoustic instrumental "Myopia", which is followed by probably the most aggressive song on Involuntary Action, "Angels In Red", and finally the lengthiest track here in "Quicksand Warning".

Involuntary Action pulls no punches, with a ferocious approach and bulky sound, yet it manages to be impressively dynamic and in doing so offers a pleasantly distinctive take on the sludge genre.