Band:	Mudbath
Album:	Corrado Zeller
Style:	Blackened hardcore, Sludge metal
Release date:	January 31, 2015
Guest review by:	Alex F

01. Thus I Saw The Destructive Voracity Of An Obsessive Ritual
02. Shrim Alternative Healing Center
03. Salmonella

Mudbath are in no rush to grab your attention. The album opens with a slowly growing ambiance of feedbacking chords and pulsating bass, until finally breaking tension with a low tempo introduction. Immediately apparent is that the band has no desire to reinvent the wheel. Conjuring up similarities between countless doom-driven sludge bands, and having a self-proclaimed influence from Bongripper, this act's sound can easily be classified as familiar. I am hesitant to call Mudbath uninspired however, as these musicians have clearly put care and attention to detail in their work.

The standout aspect of Corrado Zeller is definitely the vocal delivery. While portions with any vocalization can be sparse at times, each moment in which they are present is immediately a highlight. Three of the four members are credited with vocal contribution, however distinguishing which musician is singing at any given moment is a chore, as they all possess a very similar approach. The band shines brightest when the vocalists' distant sounding shrieks are engulfed in a torrent of tremolo picked, vaguely dissonant instrumentation (such as in the first minute and a half of "Shrim Alternative Healing Center").

As stated, each song does have rather large portions which are absent of any form of singing, so it becomes necessary for the instrumentation to stand up on its own. While it definitely succeeds in entrancing the listener at parts, the actual riffs are not varied enough to have any standout moments. It seems as if Mudbath have decided on two different stylistic approaches to instrumentation, and solely utilize these throughout the record. The most common approach is the cliche stoner and doom influenced song-writing, primarily residing within low BPM's and the pentatonic scale. The vastly more intriguing take on riffs present within Corrado Zeller is when the band lets loose and allows for a very natural feeling and upbeat auditory barrage to assault your ears. These portions contain enough dissonance and harmonic-minor scale variation to give them a black metal edge, which thankfully keeps the album fresh.

I typically like to give the often overlooked production aspect of an album more credit in shaping how I view music, however Corrado Zeller presents a dilemma in this department. While there is nothing offensive production-wise, and Mudbath clearly have a strong grasp on proper leveling such as allowing the bass to hold up the low end (as is necessary within this style), the band's obvious influences arise once again here. It's very safe-sounding, and the almost formulaic approach once again prevents Mudbath from differentiating themselves from other doom/sludge outfits.

Corrado Zeller is essentially the definition of safe. It is enjoyable enough to warrant a listen from fans of the genre, but generic enough to come across as copycat-like at times. I would say that the very slight black metal influence is enough to make Mudbath worth checking out, however they will likely fade into distant memory as more intriguing and unique bands pop into existence.

*Also, thanks to Apothecary for originally throwing these guys my way.