Band:	Rising
Album:	EP 2009
Style:	Sludge metal
Release date:	2009

01. Black Mound
02. Dead Kings
03. Evolve/Regress
04. Grail Of Bone

Rising are a sludgy trio hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, and EP 2009 is, well, just as the title would imply... a four song EP released in... you guessed it, 2009.

For starters, this release was completely self financed by the members of the band, yet despite the lack of label support, the overall product itself rivals and exceeds the quality of some of the releases I've picked up recently from some label heavies. It doesn't look like a self financed EP.

And more importantly, it doesn't sound like some self-financed garage demo, either. It sounds fantastic.

The drums are pounding and you can FEEL the abuse they suffer at the hands of Martin Niemann projecting out of your speakers. Jacob Krogholt's guitar has a great bite and tone to it that works for the powerful riffing, as well as solos (yes, solos in a sludge project!)... and as with the drums, I think Hernik Waldermar Hald's bass is felt as much as heard. His howls are reminiscent of Scott Kelly and Steve Von Till from Neurosis and fit the music quite well - both in terms of volume as well as within the context of the music itself.

"Black Mound" opens the fun with a mid-paced pummeling sludgian groove, whereas "Dead Kings" (my favorite track on the EP) picks up the pace with a some cool riffing, driving drums, and a monster riff/drum beat in the middle that is likely to cause an overenthusiastic fan or two some neck problems. "Evolve/Regress" starts slowly with some feedback and incorporates some minor psychadelic feel into the slow, but bruising guitar work, and "Grail of Bone" closes it out with another raucous riff-fest

Ultimately, Rising aren't really blazing their own trail musically - it's not terribly dissimilar from other giants within the field. That said, they do what they do mighty well. I think my biggest "complaint" is that the release is only an EP... it ends long before I want it to. 16 minutes is not enough.

And had it been a full-length that I received six months ago instead of an EP I received this month, it might very well have found itself nominated in the Sludge/Stoner category of the 2009 Metal Storm Awards... and this is from a guy who reviewed four and owns seven of the ten nominees.

They will be hitting "mainland Europe" for a tour later this month and early April, so be sure to check their Myspace page for dates and to check out the songs on the EP.