AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED – Arc [EP]

Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Arc (2016, Relapse Records)

Form in Springfield in 1994, Agoraphobic Nosebleed as been at the forefront of extreme Metal. Defined as grindcore but obviously incorporating many genres they are releasing a series of four EPs that is the musical interest of each member of the band.

With Arc, they take Eyehategod’s doomy sludge to the ANb level of extreme. Front woman Kat Katz was the member that got the first turn in the genre influencing EP that resulted in Arc. Her latest band, Salome was a stoner rock/doom band. She also says in the interview linked up here that doom is her favorite genre since the last ten years. There’s a huge sludge groove in Arc and less grind. Katz’s vocals are aggressive and perfect for the genre of the three songs.

Starting with ‘’Gnaw’’, song number 3 on the record, that was written by Scott Hull (guitars/drum programming) many years before, the EP is standing strong in the doom metal buzz of the recent years. In fact, I liked Arc’s heaviness and the production. The guitar riffs and full of fuzz and the vocals are violent. I just wished they would have had a real drummer for once.

Finally, Arc is like my reunion with Agoraphobic Nosebleed a band I spinned its split with Converge The Poacher Diairies, Honky Reduction, and Frozen Corpse Stuffed With Dope like a thousand times each. Let’s hope that the next three EPs will be as well executed and that they will bring us into the different territories of each band member.

8.0