Band:	Take Over And Destroy
Album:	Rotten Tide
Style:	Blackened sludge metal
Release date:	June 06, 2011
A review by:	Doc G.

01. Midnight Hunger
02. Pale Nimbus
03. Embody The Ghost
04. Morning Disgust
05. Necrophatic Vatican

Lord almighty, what is this vile wretchedness?! Honestly, who makes music this horrible sounding? If this music was a child, it would find it's way into an orphanage within minutes of it's birth, it's just that hideous. Ugly-as-sin doesn't even begin to describe Rotten Tide album in all it's glory.

How to describe this? Well...It's aggressive, that's for sure. It's got that raw, grooving rock n roll appeal that you'll find with the likes of Bison B.C., combined with the grim psychedelic feel offered by few other than Nachtmystium. The riffs are incredibly catchy, yet they're abrasively unique. It's almost like accidentally taking a bite of that mouldy hot dog that's been sitting in your fridge since before you moved in. It's a horrible, rotten experience, but there's that small part of you that's tempted by the prospect of a second bite. Isolate that slight fascination you derive from the dynamic taste of a rotting hot dog, focus on it entirely, then write a soundtrack for it. What you'll wind up with is something along the lines of TOAD's Rotten Tide. Unlike eating old processed food, you don't have to feel guilty about this. It's all the wretched fun without any of the shame and (possibly hallucinogenic) after-effects.

...Did I mention they have organs? Organs of the keyboard variety, of course. Not the guts & innards type...though I'm sure they have those too, but I digress. The subtle, underlying organs really beef up this music. Sure, the eccentric riffing makes it pretty spooky sounding as it is, but the keys just give it that extra layer that makes it creepier, without removing any of the mouth-frothing raw aggression. This is where my only complaint lies - the keys really could have been brought forward in the mix a little more. Well, rather they play their part subtly in the background than become a gimmicky center-piece of the music, I suppose.

If you enjoy truly ugly sounding music, surely this is the must hear album of the year for you.