OK, how many times do you think you’ve heard bands being compared to Mastodon or Torche at this point in your life? Probably hundreds and, to be honest, it’s with good reason; both of those bands helped forge an entire generation of musicians and their sound. But aren’t you tired of it? Maybe, but I’ve still managed to sneak in the comparison by using this ironic opening paragraph. Got ’em. All of this so that I could get the exposition out of the way quickly and tell you to go listen to Dead Now. You already know what they sound like based on the “sneaky” comparisons above but honestly, their take on this genre is one you’re going to want to check out. Let’s get to it down below.
What I love about these guys is how much fun they have with a genre that often seems has forgotten what fun is and is more busy with revisiting the same forms over and over again. Like Netherlands, Dead Now are taking this kind of fuzz-centric groove sludge and just seeing where it rolls. In the case of the excellently named “Ritchie Blackmourning”, it rolls to an excellent breakdown on the last part of the track and right into the decadent and self-indulging riffs at the start of the third track, immediately followed by super sleek vocals. Later on the album, on “Powershapes”, tons of swagger is introduced into the main riff while the outro is even more hectic than the second track’s, following right on the heels of…cowbells? Alright then.
Overall, this self-titled EP is a force to be reckoned with. Riffs are chugged, bass is strummed, and skins are hit. There’s a lot of power in everything that Dead Now do, catapulting them into the space of modern bands doing their own thing in this unique space first founded by the aforementioned giants. Alongside Netherlands and Lo-Pan, Dead Now are putting the “fun” back in “funky sludge”. Yeah, I just made that up; sue me.