Band:	Whores.
Album:	War.
Style:	Noise, Sludge metal
Release date:	April 12, 2024
A review by:	RaduP

01. Malinches
02. Quitter's Fight Song
03. Hieronymus Bosch Was Right
04. Hostage Therapy
05. Back When I Was A Savage
06. Sicko
07. The Death Of A Stuntman
08. Every Day Is Leg Day
09. Imposter Syndrome
10. Savage (Reprise)

Now that's the simplest shocking band name I've seen lately. Let's see what Whores. are about!

There's something just so ugly about that band name. It's not really a slur, but it's denigrating and dehumanizing to a portion of the populace of which it doesn't seem like any of the band members are part of. It feels like that kind of choice that would be one step away from disaster. I don't feel like being oppressed one someone else's behalf, but as far as I'm concerned the band got what they wanted out of the band name: it was instantly shocking and striking to see it. I didn't even need to listen to the music because it also achieved instantly communicating that this was most likely a very punkish kind of music. Noise rock / post-hardcore / sludge metal, so close enough. And apparently a band that's been around for more than a decade.

Well, War. is kind of a return album. I don't think the band was really broken up before this, but it's a bit weird when all your other material, namely two EPs and a full length album, were released in the timespan between 2011 and 2016, and then for a period longer than that timespan nothing came out of the Whores. camp. Aside from the observations on release schedules, Whores. are also very aesthetically consistent, once again keeping to the very short, simple, and striking when it comes to cover arts and album titles. Not that much when it comes to track titles, but I guess at least part of it must tell a more concrete story. In any case, there aren't any fundamental changes when it comes to the music either, but let's dive in regardless.

War. was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Ryan Boesch, who also worked with Helmet, Melvins and Fu Manchu, which might also give some indication as to the type of sludge metal one would encounter on the record. It is noisy but less in the oppressive Primitive Man kind, but rather one where the fuzz in the riffing is very close to stoner metal and there's a very groovy feeling to the melodies. More Unsane than Chat Pile, more grungy and alternative than doomy or ominous, but still kinda terrifying in a more fun way. Hell, even the vocals, while gruff in a hardcore way, still sound groovy and fun. I guess it makes sense that if the presentation of Whores. is simple and striking, their music would be too.

I mean: it has fuzz, it has groove, it has weight, it has that tongue-in-cheek humor. It's simple. And sometimes I'm a simple man and I just want groovy fuzzy riffs.