Band:	Irreversible
Album:	Age
Style:	Atmospheric sludge metal
Release date:	2006
A review by:	Herzebeth

01. --:--
02. 23:33
03. Intermission
04. 13:42
05. 8:22

The last time I checked in my "Avant-Garde" books, Pelican broke the envelope a long time ago then Isis, Cult Of Luna and Mouth of the Architect were leading the Sludge/Prog/Doom Metal scene right? But what happens to the "underground" subdivision? Now all of the sudden, great (but unknown) bands showed up and said "Hey! We can do things better you know?" and Scald released "Vermiculatus", Ganon fucked our brains cells with "In the Dead of Sleep" and Generation of Vipers showed a droned side of what Neurosis wrote in the old days.

Today my friends, I'm going to show you one of the most underrated names in the scene, a band with nothing but an EP to represent their music, a band that grabs the "Sludge" sound and reforms it into dark atmospheres and melodic passages, a band simply called Irreversible. Damn! How can I describe this band? I guess it's not that hard when you talk about styles and genres, but right when I try to find some words to describe the strength and attitude of Irreversible, my mouth begins to mumble and emits all kind of irrational thoughts believe me.

This half-hour EP is one hell of an experience; the first track ("--:--") enters in a very Pink Floydeske manner (down tuned intro ala "Wish You Were Here" right?) then a riff sequence detonates and gives you an overture of what your ears will be hearing during the next 30 minutes. Complex drumming with irregular beats, layered guitars with chromatic passages, powerful bass-lines, and bizarre keyboards that create an extremely dark vibe (try Intermission for that matter).

There are enough goodies in this album to call it a great release and even the length is quite decent (I'm not sure if I call this an EP actually); It's amazing how a band, with nothing but an EP in their hands, can show us incredible ideas, awesome force and really powerful music, that's a great feature that not even "known" bands can achieve most times believe me. Irreversible is the next best thing at least in my books, they are surely hitting hard with irrevocable punches; soon they'll release a Full-Length and I hope to be one of the first ones to hear it.

Is there a problem with "Age"? Not exactly, but these guys are just starting, they surely need to polish some aspects here and there, they surely need to tighten the screws and to add versatility towards their songwriting; The song's length is perfect, the music is marvelous, the attitude is brilliant and the ideas are really overwhelming, they just need to land all those thoughts and explode them into a masterpiece that's all.

Recommended.

Best tracks: "--:--", "8:22", "13:42"