After nine years of splits and EPs, Southern sludge stalwarts Sourvein have returned with their third full-length album Black Fangs. T-Roy and his revolving door cadre of dirt merchants have been one of the most consistent outfits in sludge and this release is exactly what fans have come to expect; tar-like riffs, subsonic bass, plodding drums and throaty screams served up in a simple, straightforward style. There’s no twists, no turns, no bullshit “innovation”, just no nonsense weed-and-whiskey Southern dirge.

If you’ve heard any of Sourvein’s previous releases you know exactly what to expect from Black Fangs. Despite their ever changing lineup, their sound has remained remarkably consistent. Feedback drenched riffs and bludgeoning drums roll along like a blob of tar opium through a field of busted whiskey bottles as T-Roy purges his troubles with blasts of pained screams.

On the whole it’s a satisfyingly heavy dose of down tempo dirge tinged with elements of doom and stoner rock. “Gasp” starts off like a grotesque version of “Angry Man” until it falls off a cliff of sludge desolation. “Fangs” drags its introductory stoner groove through some Graves at Sea-esque mire. The burning southern influence rises on “Nomadic” like a more controlled version of Eyehategod’s “Peace Thru War”. Neither twiddly guitar effects, nor sweeping psychedelia are to be found here and the dread “post” prefix doesn’t belong within a thousand miles of this record. This is visceral music, pressing on your chest and rattling your guts.

It can get a bit repetitive, they have a tendency to repeat riffs a few too many times as on “Holy Transfusion” and “Flux” and at times there’s a distinct feeling of “Have I heard this before?”, but they’re really not trying to do anything ground breaking, they never really have. Their focus has always been on putting a couple of good riffs together and bringing the rumbling, oppressive heavy and that’s precisely what Black Fangs delivers.

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