SLOWER - RAGE AND RUIN

But what’s the future of a band like that? Especially since Slower‘s Slower got a decent response, had a proper release on Heavy Psych Sounds and people wondering loudly when the band would start to play live, etc., it seemed like Slower needed a path forward. Rage and Ruin, the band’s second full-length in less than a year’s time, is it. Balch‘s assembled band, with vocalist Amy Tung Barrysmith (Year of the Cobra) and drummer Esben Willems (Monolord), working remotely in Washington and Sweden, respectively, appeared as the central trio on Slower as well, but where that LP brought in Laura Pleasants of Kylesa and Scott Reeder (Kyuss, The Obsessed, Goatsnake, et al) for high-impact guest spots, the new six-song/42-minute collection chooses instead to focus on the Balch, Barrysmith and Willems trio, and to be honest, there’s not much more you need than what you get throughout.