Guiltless (Deluxe)

With its third studio album, Guiltless, the Chicago doom-metal band Indian has crafted an opus of sludge that both assaults you and holds you comfortably inside a womb of sound. “No Grace” comes out punching, with frontman and guitarist Dylan O’Toole screaming like a man holding the world record for “most demons crammed into one possession.” This element of Nordic church-burning black metal sets Indian head and shoulders above its peers. As the song gains momentum two-thirds of the way in, it’s evident that Bill Bumgardner's hamfisted drumming and Ron Defries’ gargantuan, rumbling bass are the muscle behind the band's behemoth engine. But Guiltless adds another dimension to Indian’s sonic realm with Sean Patton, whom the band simply credits for “noise.” His presence is felt around the bludgeoning “The Fate Before Fate” and especially in the static of the eardrum-battering title track. Patton gets more of the playing field in “Guilty,” where his aural creations saturate through the other elements like a sonic acid slowly dissolving and destroying.