Ladybird - "Ontological Physicalism" ...

The band from Arizona with the light-weight name for such a heavy-weight band has released this three tracker. We know little about the band and I am slightly confused over the title of this release, is it just a demo or it is called 'Ontological Physicalism.' In the end it don't matter, this is a solid sludge-metal release but it is also very unoriginal but if you like your sludge in the Weedeater meets Bongzilla vein, this is something worth investigating. Just three tracks for a total playing time of just 26:46 but their  bludgeoning attack is something to be admired. Sickening guitar sounds are matched by even sicker bass tones and the feeling you get from this is they must be a lethal and deadly loud live band if this is anything to go by.

There is not much to say about these three chunks of filthy sludge. 'Ontological Physicalism', 'Gone Away,' and 'Slow' are all pulverizing in their intensity and while it all sounds recycled from someone else, it is pretty high on the infectious scale of sludge-metal songwriting. Ladybird can be best described as a very stoned black-metal band trying their hand at groovy sludge/stoner-metal and for the most part succeeding very well indeed. Distortion, feedback and general ugliness is what is on display but Ladybird have some interesting variations happening. 'Gone Away' begins as a fuzz-laden doom-sludge exercise before heading off into a bluesy kind of jam. 'Slow' is more depraved with heavy doses of feedback and like the title suggests, it crawls along with the pace of a sloth.

'Ontological Physicalism' is perhaps the least interesting of the three tracks but it sets the mood for the rest of the EP. Ladybird play generic stuff by sludge-metal standards and that is their biggest but only real downfall. The performance is full of passion and the sound is great but how often you will want to revisit this recording is debatable if you have at your disposal all the Weedeater, Bongzilla and Sons Of Otis albums. Ladybird really sounds like a blend of those three bands and a predictable one at that but the songs assault the ears with a level of fuzzy power that is hard to ignore. The songs are just catchy enough to be memorable but how important you placed originality in music might be the key in how much you enjoy this. I for one can't wait to hear what they do next as I feel this EP is nothing more than a teaser for a future that should satisfy the most fussy of sludge-doom-stoner metal listeners. Give it a listen....7/10.

Words: Ed Barnard & Sally Bethhall


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