This is one I've been looking forward too for a while: Twingiant are one of the best sludge metal bands out there right now and every release they drop is a true pleasure to listen too. Their ability to mix in a disparate variety of influences to create something that sounds classic is stunning. While they certainly have run into limitations in the past I still get quite a kick out of their music, and this latest offering Blood Feud is a masterfully crafted statement to all that they can be. With Blood Feud we start to see them starting to live up to their true potential at last. Always a little bit apart from their peers, the band has gone even further out on a limb with this record, and do it in a way that really works for them, but which probably wouldn't for almost any other band on the scene. There is something strangely comforting about this record, the warm guitar tones and the crashing drums are perfect counterpoint to the crushing sneers, grunts and snarls coming from their vocalist.
What you need to realize about Twingiant is that they are very much a guitar-centric band. Their guitar lines are a lot more convoluted than many of their peers and this gives their music layers most other bands wouldn't dream of having. That being said – the formula exists for a reason. As much as I love it when Twingiant prove that they are ready and willing to move past the stereotypes that so frequently make sludge boring some of their riffing doesn’t quite make it. While the production has improved with every passing Twingiant record, it still feels like that crucial final step hasn’t been made. Still, they easily circumvent a lot of the struggles many of their peers fall under by writing tight and concise songs that are rarely given room to dawdle. Instead there is much more of a punishing balls out assault that mesmerizes the listener as you find yourself digging ever deeper into mountainous riffs of the type you can never truly escape.
As the band consistently pushes for new and exciting pastures I can’t help but to wonder what these Phoenix based masterminds are going to be cooking up next. There are moments on this record that remind us of the true brilliance of the group, the prolonged outro of ‘Ride The Gun’ being a prime example of what Twingiant are capable of. I can’t help but to be continually fascinated by these dudes, there is a lot of meat to the music that really needs to be methodically unpacked if you seek to fully process where they are at as creators. In an overcrowded genre Twingiant remind us that there are still interesting places to go, whilst simultaneously staying true to a lot of the tropes that make sludge metal so good in the first place. With intricate riffing, unique vibes and grand vision its hard to want to separate yourself from what these cats are
Score: 7.5/10
