BILE CASTER is a trio writing music within the Sludge/Doom Metal genre. Formed in the UK at the turn of this decade, this is their debut EP, and it has three lengthy songs. “Abscess” is first, and it resembles the title… an abscess is a painful, pus-filled lump that forms in the body's tissues, organs, or confined spaces. It's usually caused by a bacterial infection, but can also be caused by viruses, parasites, or swallowed objects. The tempo is low, the riffs reverberate loudly, and the vocals are guttural utterances…kind of like how an abscess would look and feel…bloody disgusting. There is nearly no melody whatsoever.

“Trapped” opens with guitar distortion and deep, chunky bass notes, seguing into another nasty and vile sound. At times, the machine slows so far down, you almost think the motor has shut off, but it keeps rumbling. Spoken words provide a small break from the filth, but the disease is never fully gone. “Harrowing” closes the album, and it means “extremely disturbing or distressing; grievous.” It’s a ten-minute beast, featuring some of the same elements as the other songs…nearly no melody, absolute hopelessness, and a sentence passed down to wander the earth alone for the remainder of all time. One of the differences however is that the sleeping giant awakes after centuries of rest, and he is pissed.

It segues again to more spoken words, amidst a backdrop of vile horrors. Towards the end, distortion takes over, as if to outweigh everything else in the song, and leave your ears buzzing for weeks. Overall, what impressed me most about the band was their unwavering commitment to a soot-riddled and black hearted product that barely even registers as “music” in the traditional sense of the word. It’s even more extreme then Sludge…it’s more like centuries old oil discarded in a container deep in the basement that, surprisingly, can still be used.