Band:	Steak Number Eight
Album:	The Hutch
Style:	Atmospheric sludge metal
Release date:	March 2013

01. Cryogenius
02. Black Eyed
03. Photonic
04. Push/Pull
05. Pilgrimage Of A Black Heart
06. Exile Of Our Marrow
07. The Shrine
08. Slumber
09. Ashore
10. Rust
11. Tearwalker

Why in the world do I love this band? They have one of the most ridiculous sounding band names in the history of metal music, the members are all old enough to be my children and their resonance isn't quite the typical form of post/sludge metal music that I am used to. But wow, they got me in the palms of their hands.

Hailing from Belgium, in 2007, at the ripe 'ole ages of 15, Steak Number Eight won a couple of local band contests and shortly after they went on to release their first album When the Candle Dies Out.... Now on the radar, their next album , All is Chaos had a bigger budget, was produced and mixed by a couple of head honchos and the album was well received. Rewarded by appearing on some of the bigger tours through out Europe, the pressure is now on this up and coming bands' future releases'. I am here to write The Hutch takes what their first two albums were built on and adds about 1,000 more bricks of hard-hitting sludge-style riffage, soothing post metal crescendos and distinctive grunge and hardcore melodies.

About 75 minutes long, the songs are solid and diverse enough to hold my attention through it all. There are two "record company songs" as I like to call them, "Black Eyed" and "Slumber". Two of the shorter and fun songs, they get straight to the point with a pummeling barrage of memorable riffs and melodies. Designed to be the trademark songs of the album, both contain the most unforgettable bridge sections of any song I have ever heard (seriously). "Phototonic" and "Push/Pull" show the band's more mature side. Modestly designed in post metal shells, both contain long, droning verses eventually building to loud, expansive and crushing finales. Their is even an anthem of a sort, I wouldn't quite call it a ballad, with the mellow and catchy "Ashore". A beautiful and gentile song, a delicate chorus pulsates along with the flurry of hardcore guitar passages. All of the songs lead to a ginormous of an ender in "Tearwalker". A post metal showpiece nearly 10 minutes long, the song represents what Steak Number Eight has inevitably evolved to: A not-so-serious band capable of writing extensive sounding pieces.

Steak Number Eight's sound is very elementary and basic. The band members are all capable musicians but the lyrics aren't very strong. But what the album lacks in these two departments are made up with very firm song structures and perfect recording production. A nicely blended mixed of clean and scream style vocals lay directly underneath the powerful atmosphere of bass, guitar and drum. Every song on the album is decisive because the style of each song represents a different genre you can cling on to. I do not consider any of the songs to be fillers. They are well thought out and have their own identity. If you are a fan of either hardcore/grunge metal or post/sludge metal style structured songs you should give this album a try. It blends these two genres of music so well that it's very hard to classify this album or compare this band to anyone else. Isn't that one of the highest compliments given to a metal band?