Asbestosdeath
Dejection/Unclean

THE REVIEW

Very Dark and Magmatic.

From the cover itself, the reissue of the EPs ("Dejection" and "Unclean") released respectively in 1990 (self-produced) and in 1991 (for Profane Existance from San Diego), exudes a dark atmosphere. From these 4 early cries, from these 20 minutes of music, an entire generation of bands that assail our ears was born.

Asbestosdeath are the embryo that brought us most of the best doom/stoner bands of recent years. Just take a look at the members of this band: Matt Pike (later in Sleep and High on Fire), Al Cisneros and Chris Hakius (first in Sleep and now in OM), and Thomas Choi (It Is I, Operator Generator).

The four songs that compose this reissue (Southern Lord Santa Subito!!!) are, if possible, an even rougher, barer, and more primitive version of the sound codified by the subsequent bands: slowed-down and heavy doom and sludge, screeching screams (here Cisneros places himself in the realm of screamo), dark guitars and sounds that clash directly with the listener's gut (coordinates: Eyeategod) are the ingredients that make this album the bastard heir of Black Sabbath mating with the Melvins. Noteworthy is the positive presence, buried among the dirty sludge of the four, of clean guitars that make the atmosphere created by the band even more distressing.

Content-wise, Asbestosdeath sets themselves apart from subsequent bands in terms of the themes addressed: misanthropy, hatred, harsh and brutal lyrics, oddly not influenced by weed as much as later lyrical creations or by the mystic inclinations of OM or the warlike themes of H.o.F.

An anthem of desolation and grime, of anguish ("Anguish" is the best track of the four), a seminal album for everything that would come after and a "must-have" for every self-respecting stoner/doomer.

Negative notes: a very Lo-Fi production (although it couldn't have been otherwise) and a guilty absence of information in the booklet (which laconically lists only the band members' names) that nonetheless features artwork in line with the album's content.