What’s that at the very summit
of this year’s list? More
prog-sludge? This is a gargantuan
record, which I’ve played consistently since spring. On their third album,
Wigan’s Boss Keloid have hit on
something very special indeed. To say they’ve transcended their stoner rock
roots would be putting it mildly: Melted on
the Inch takes an unthinkably huge leap forward, with the band entering a
world of possibility. The core sound is now heavier than traditional stoner
rock, moving into sludge metal. But this is way
more than just a sludge album. It’s an album that pushes the creative limits
well beyond 99% of heavy music.
Melted on the Inch is
packed full of weird time changes, unexpected turns into mellow progressive
rock (think High on Fire getting
bored mid-song and handing over to Emerson,
Lake and Palmer), vocals that shift from seductive to barked (and back),
and even occasional use of what sounds suspiciously like a Hammond organ (I
mean, what sludge metal band uses a Hammond?). There are obvious comparisons to
AWOOGA’s debut album here: both are
unique progressive metal records that came out of nowhere and wowed me in 2018
– but where AWOOGA retain some of
the floaty space-rock qualities of many less heavy prog-rock bands, Boss Keloid make music that’s much more
rooted in the dirt. This is Picasso painting in a mud-pit. Heavy as hell, grimy, vast, complex and – above all else –
unexpected (even after many, many
listens), this is an absolute must for anyone who likes intelligent heavy
music.
sample track: