Abominable Iron Sloth

Difficult as it is to resist awarding The Abominable Iron Sloth's eponymous debut album five stars based solely on their clever moniker (not to mention their CD booklet's comic book story line and artwork), the fact is their music simply ain't all that stellar. Neither is it at all bad, mind you, and when matched to the consistently entertaining lyrics behind silly song titles like "Hats Made of Veal and That New Car Scent," "I Am the Carcass," and "A Hot Pink Shell of My Former Self," their often-interchangeable sludge metal riffs are easier to forgive. Far more memorable, thanks to better licks and wider contrasts of heft and light, are "A Distant Pond From the Rivers of Human Limelight," "Climax of a Nightmare" and the quite possibly brilliant "Parasite Hilton and Other Flaws Inherent to Wealth," whose sole refrain consists of the words "Run slut run" shrieked over and over. That right there may justify the attention of enthusiasts for hardcore-inflected sludge, and, along with the Sacramento outfit's clear desire to stand out no matter what, leaves one expectantly curious for future works.