In the years that I’ve spent on this earth, I’ve come to the conclusion of “everything in due time” or as I like to reword it, “I wasn’t meant to do that before I did”. Case in point: Tad. I never took the time out of my day to venture forth into Tad’s area of music before last year and the reason I did when I did was because of the Lumbar album. I’m a huge Yob fan and when I read that Mike Scheidt would be doing vocals for the album, I certainly had to check it out. Upon further study, I found out that a one Tad Doyle would also be doing vocals. I thought to myself, “Tad Doyle? Wasn’t he in that one grunge-like band from the 90’s? Tad?” So I got the Lumbar album and thoroughly enjoyed it. That prompted me to investigate Tad and holy fucking shit am I glad I did. They instantly tickled a fancy that I hadn’t had tickled in years. Just my luck when I found out about Brothers of the Sonic Cloth too because this  record is straight killer. Sonically, this isn’t like his previous output in Tad and that’s not a bad thing. This was released on Neurot and I can see why. This album ebbs and flows like a river of lava traipsing down the mountain, destroying life in it’s path while completely aware of itself as an unstoppable force of nature. This album is very much about the riff and the riff is a big, heavy bitch that consistently transforms throughout.

“Lava” is the first track and it is ferocious. Mr. Doyle sounds so vicious with his vocal delivery and the song morphs in cadence to equal his ferocity. It’s as if a thrash metal song was being played by a hardcore band that decided to be a doomy grunge band for a day. It’s a weird conglomoration of all three styles while not comitting to any of them. “Empire of Dust” is straight doom. Almost funeral in execution. It’s an avalanche of molasses steeped in a muddy swamp of shit and filth and hell. The vocals are terribly undiscernable but that’s not a bad thing. It is pure hate. A chloroform cloth of sonic anguish wired through snareheads, amplifier tubes, and illbegotten strings of disgust.

“Unnamed” is borderline thrash metal but with a little less of a hardcore vibe and a little moreof a sludgy doom vibe filtered through some early Isis filters. The vocals take turns in the doom metal yelling style and some almost spoken black metal gurgles with some Yob-ish type wails towards the last ¾ of the song. It’s a multifaced beast that keeps a very solid rhythm backend. Very riff forward with a fantastic vocal performance that is sure to be awesome as fuck in a live setting. “La Mano Poderosa” harkens back to Tad’s previous work in Tad but with a little more heft and intensity. It teeters on the edge of post-metal territory at times but it never breaches the border.

“I Am” is another subdued affair in the vein of “Empire of Dust”. The vocal delivery on this track is another phenomenal affair. Part restrained whisper, doom metal yell, and black metal croak; they help vary the plodding nature of the song itself and provide variances in mood while the song creates the sonic equivalent of depression and sorrow. “The Immutable Path” is all rhythmic tom drumming with some omnious bass (I think). A little bit before the 3 minute mark, some deep end spoken word comes in and almost chants an incantation of quiet solace. “Outro” closes out the album with some misshapen piano playing. It’s an awkwardly perfect end to an absolutely awesome album.  The songs vary in length from 3 minutes to 11 minutes. With two filler tracks, it seems short on paper. With a full listen through, though, it fulfills incredibly.

If you are a fan of Tad’s previous work, certainly check this out. It will not disappoint in the slightest. It’s a fantastic album that seemlessly blends numerous aspects of rock & metal into a cohesive whole that can only be executed by Mr. Doyle and cohorts. Another quality release from Neurot.

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