Michigan City, Indiana sludge/doom metal outfit YELLOWTOOTH, seasoned vets in the Indiana/Chicago music scenes since the late 80s, are ready to release their third full-length, "The Burning Illusion" 5 years after their previous release. The journey for the band began back in 2008 when bassist and vocalist Peter Clemens - probably most known for the band SEA OF TRANQUILITY - joined up with Ed Kribs on drums and Henry McGinnis on guitar and vocals - both of CHRONIC DISORDER. Their first musical creations took form in the basement of a home built in 1900. The band took influences from ORANGE GOBLIN, CLUTCH, COC, WEEDEATER, XYSMA and BLACK SABBATH to form their unique brand of sludge, doom and heavy metal.

In 2009, the trio were able to create a 4-song demo as a start, but the following year they were able to flesh out their debut full-length album "Disgust". It would then take another 5 years for them to get their sophomore album "Crushed by the Wheels of Progress" out to the masses. This second go-around showed maturation and even a bit of progressiveness to their sound. Unfortunately, in 2018 they lost Ed Kribs but was soon replaced with Dave Dalton of Central Indiana. He would elevate the band's status, bringing along his dedication and experience playing with bands such as RATZKRIEG, LEGION, and DEMONS OF WRATHICA.

It's hard to talk about new releases over the past year without addressing the pandemic and YELLOWTOOTH used it to their advantage. Working with studio engineer Jon Hehman - guitarist for YEAR OF DESOLATION and PRIME SPECIMEN - this would be the first recording with Dalton, incorporating various styles of doom and sludge but also adding elements of speed metal as well. Not to be forgotten, the elements of Southern-soaking riffs are still present from their previous material while still blazing new sonic territory. Somehow, the band is committed to carrying out sporadic live performances where available while continuing to create even more new music in the form of an upcoming EP.

Overall, "The Burning Illusion" was not that exciting, but there were some bright spots along the way. One thing is for sure, guitarist Henry McGinnis can come up with some tasty SABBATH/COC sounding riffs and makes for an exciting find on some of the tracks. A standout is the fast-paced "The Illusion", one of the few tracks in which it seems like they almost start to speed up. While the chorus is a bit uninteresting, McGinnis is able to keep my interest with his little guitar melodies interspersed throughout. The addition of speed metal riffs is sparing, as the band seems to wallow more in the slow swamp/southern metal their generally known for than fist-pumping anthems. There also doesn't seem to be a good flow to the album as the mundane, sluggish "Scattered to the Wind" precedes the frenetic and far more engaging "Lazurus Syndrome" which would serve better as an album opener than closer. The slow SABBATH inspired "From Faith to Flames" which opens the album would serve better as a breather track in the middle with its clean, down-tuned, crawling riff that goes in and out of distortion. In the end, it has its moments but "The Burning Illusion" experiments fall a bit flat.