Vinyl Review

Baptists – Beacon of Faith

Is sludgecore a sub-genre? Should it be? I'm not sure, but what I do know for sure is that when thick fuzzy sludge metal meets aggressive hardcore a wonderful thing is born. Baptists are from Vancouver, BC and have crafted an excellent and precise blend of some of my favourite sub-genres. They popped up onto my radar a few months ago when I was looking for some new music, an excited murmuring was spreading over the internet about their new album prompting me to give their older material a listen, I liked what I heard quite a lot so I kept an eye on the new release rack for this record to appear.

Beacon of Faith is Baptists third and most recent album, the sticker on the packaging proclaimed it to be their “third attempt at a first album”, which seemed like an odd statement to me. But after giving the album a spin I can kind of see what they mean. The material on this album certainly feels like a continuation of what appears on their previous album, but it also feels like a progression of it as well. This album was recorded by the very talented Kurt Ballou at his Godcity studio, as were there past two albums, this growing familiarity may have also helped with the honing of their sound heard on this album,

The record kicks off with a potent start, packed with hardcore intensity. A handful of short songs comprised of hard and fast blasts of aggression lead us into the experience. After that we get a cut that brings things down, if only slightly, and gives everything some real breathing room. Over the the course of the track it picks up the aggression again but that glimpse of a reprieve stays with us, revealing the more calculated sludge elements that flow through much of the music here.

The bulk of this album is comprised of aggressive, very Converge flavoured compositions that show off the punk roots of the hardcore they're drawing from. Most of the songs are quite short and while there are distinct pauses between them there is a cohesion that threads through the album creating an experience as a whole rather than any specific songs standing apart. The exceptions being the ones that are supposed to step away and break up the pacing and aggression of the entire album.

These exceptions are real high points on the album for me, not because they are better than the more raucous hardcore that surrounds them, but simply because they show another facet of the band and their songwriting that only complements the intensity of the rest of what they have to offer. These tracks fully embrace the sludge and let it wash over the composition, they're not frequent but they appear a number of times over the course of the record, (early on the first side, and again early on the second side, then also the outro to the final song,) and they're not short. This is really cool and adds some real gravity to the experience, these can, at moments, be almost post-rock like as they repeat the same riffs or rhythms again and again hypnotically before jumping off into a chunky hardcore riff.

Now I don't want the album to sound divided, this sludge influence is present all throughout the album, in every note of the overdriven, colossal tones coming from the bass and guitar. There is a backwoods essence to the feel of their sound here. While the fuzz is strong with this one, the instruments feel strong and distinct from one another, some thanks to Mr. Ballou I am sure. The drumming is also fantastic on this album, their very talented sticks man elevating the music at every turn, never obtrusive just a great interpretation of what's needed. The vocals are great, a gritty and growly hardcore shout, that doesn't vary much in pitch or ever get anywhere near clean, but is diverse in delivery and, in my opinion, executed expertly.

This is a killer album, a heavy slab of sludgy metallic hardcore put together with a lot of passion and a lot of talent. This specific synthesis of sub-genres has really grown on me as of late and these guys are doing a really great rendition of it. Also, Nate Yacyshyn the drummer for Baptists also plays in Sumac, an experimental sludge band who released a monster of an album in the same year as this one, a few months later, so pretty hard working as well.

Recommended for:

Angry sludge metal fans

Hardcore fans who want to mix things up a bit

The Vinyl

This is a nice quality release, it's in a gatefold cover with a nature photo, in keeping with their previous cover styles. The record is of medium weight black vinyl, and came in a clear plastic sleeve. I'm a bit new to the plastic sleeves, they seem like a step up from the paper ones, but their lack of stiffness makes them harder to get back into the covers. This one is okay, except that the cover can be hard to get open in order to insert the record. The 33 rpm speed is clearly marked on the label of the record itself.

Size: 12”

Speed: 33 RPM

Colour: Black

Weight: Medium

Labels: Southern Lord