From their EPK, “Hamburg-based band DRUMA have made a striking return with their sophomore album, "Sores of Our Time.” Building on the foundation laid by their debut, "Dawning,” this dark sludge/post-metal quintet has crafted a work that feels both expansive and tightly refined, solidifying their place among the genre’s heavyweights. "Sores of Our Time" is a testament to DRUMA’s growth, proving their ability to not only refine their craft but to push their music into even darker and more resonant territory. It’s a must-listen for those who seek heaviness with depth, and it cements DRUMA as a standout force in the post-metal and sludge scene.”

The album has four songs, and “The Fall of Men” is first, and the opening tones are clean, but tense. The song begins adding layers and a storm approaches on the horizon. What follows is a weighted plate of slow, dissonant sludge, and the vocals bloody your flesh with each word. “First World” paints a bleak outlook of the world…the kind where everyone gets on your nerves and each news show you watch further proves your theory that the world is coming to an end. It rattles with more energy, especially in the drums. It seems to grow in depression the more it moves…sort of like the blackness of depression.

“Disconnected” is exactly that…something that occurs when your feelings are disconnected with your person, and that is the sense I get when listening to this song. The vocals paint a picture of a tortured soul, wandering his way through life with constant voices in his head keeping him down. “Until the End” closes the album, and it’s a 11-minute opus. There is a slow build to the absolutely dismal sound, and it stretches out like the cold tundra of Antarctica. Layers begin to be added, and each one puts another nail in your coffin, so to speak. The intense pressure finally fades a bit after the half way mark, but the desolate tones that follow are no better for your psyche than the intense anger.

Not being familiar with the band, the refinement of the album is indeed evident. They settled on a depressive sound and slowly worked its way down your throat until you swallowed it unwillingly. The album is being dark, beyond despondence, and beyond hopelessness…leaving the listener to wonder what things come after these. I don’t want to find that out.