It’s rare that a relatively “pure” sludge metal album grips me as much as Beastwars 2019 masterpiece IV did. Perhaps it’s the albums harrowing and audible dealing with vocalist/frontman Matt Hyde’s close brush with mortality, but the way his rough vocals break on the rocky shores of inevitability on “Storms on Mars” or the sneakily melodic defiance of “Raise the Sword” cemented that album as one of my all time favorites in the genre. IV is a bit of an odd duck in the Beastwars flock, as both their earlier sound and its reprisal on 2023 record Tyranny of Distance is of a more immediate and dusty dirt-road drive ready variety. That type of grungy, fuzzy sludge usually takes up a more casual place in my listening habits and while good, rarely manages to grab or bold my attention in the way that IV did, or that more prog- or post metal leaning sludge acts like Dvne, Trudger, The Atlas Moth or Anciients do.
Now, sailing across stormy November seas—about as far away from me as geographically possible—these New Zealand sludge metal darlings break the horizon after two years with The Ship // The Sea, their sixth studio album, conceptualising the journey of life across choppy and often unforgiving tides. Bearing this context and the album’s tempestuous concept and aesthetic in mind, I hoped Beastwars would set a course for similarly affective and soul-churning waters on this latest voyage.
There’s definitely a more atmospheric and introspective direction on this latest outing, compared to the fuzzier and generally more carefree mood of 2023's Tyranny of Distance. Opener “We Don’t Say Fear” sets the mood with an apt spoken word intro, before a slow and crunching riff sets in courtesy of guitarist Clayton Anderson, who manages to make serious waves, especially considering he is the band's only guitarist. His sublime string-work is underpinned by the powerful undercurrent of bassist James Woods and drummer Nathan Hickey. The thunderous yet fragile vocal attack of Matthew Hyde is the band's unequivocal "it-factor" though, and it does not disappoint, gaining power with slower and murkier tracks. Beastwars’ penchant for channeling sneakily catchy melodies still breaks through their smoke-filled sound, as exemplified by early album standouts “Guardian of Fire” and “Levitate”, the former impressing with a Khemmis-like riff packaged in a short and punchy ditty. The latter shows Hyde’s versatility, moving between gruff roars and cleaner, washed out psychedelic rock that takes advantage of Beastwars mastery of soft loud dynamics.
After the powerful opening flood of “Guardian of Fire” and “Levitate”, the album’s similar sonic palette and natural ebb and flow of soft and loud can render its steely waters an a mnemonic monochrome, leaving the album’s back half especially hard to pin down in memory. The band have a knack for starting a track up with a relatively simple sludge riff and slowly segueing in more melody and layering, working towards a satisfying climax. I find this works better when they allow the tracks a little bit more time to brew up a proper storm, like on “Rust” and “Blood Will Flow”. While the guitar part closing out “The Storm” is a wailing winner, it could have had some more time to gestate. This is a rare critique on a sludge album as these tend to be a bit long in the tooth, and Beastwars still largely benefit from their ability to sharply edit.
This circles back to my preferences for sludge and stoner metal as textural ambiance more than engaging, hooky listening. Where IV rose above those qualities with its incredibly affective highlights, subject matter and mix of melody and grit, The Ship // The Sea shows Beastwars somewhere in between those darker waters and the smooth sailing of their more buoyant output. This never leaves them becalmed, and considering the personal hardship that wrought their despondent masterpiece I’m not sure that could or should be a repeat occurrence.