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Released on November 27, 2015 via Moment Of Collapse Records
When the bulldozing German post-sludge outfit Omega Massif broke up in 2014, they left avalanche-sized hole in my heart. If the two songs (clocking in at 22 minutes, BTW) that make up the first Cranial release, Dead Ends, are a taste of what’s to come, that hole will be filled quite nicely.
Helmed by ex-Omega guitarist Michael Melchers, Cranial veers away from Omega Massif’s trajectory of crushing, glacially paced instrumental sludge. Instead, the band opts to quicken the pace and twist song structures, adding sparse vocals and uncharacteristically clean-ish guitar tones. The brutish forward thrust of Omega is still there, but there are more twists and turns, at times recalling post-metal kingpins Isis.
This first record doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but it certainly delivers some immensely satisfying heaviness. Recommended.
