The debut album by Chicago’s mega-super group Bloodiest – the much talked about Descent – is more metal than the band let on. With the pedigree present in the seven member group (comprised of members from Yakuza, 90 Day Men, Atombombpocketknife) that’s not surprising.

The first two songs the band let out into the world, “Pastures” and “Slave Rule,” were both more ambient in nature. Although “Slave Rule” does end with some true metal riffage, my suspicion was that Descent would be mostly that; long slow pieces augmented with some heavy guitar action. Any notion of that is removed right from the get go.

Opener “Fallen” is pretty much metal through and through. Slow, doom metal like a lumbering beast. The drums, heavy as fuck, rarely crack a sweat but the guitars do chug along quicker than the song feels. It’s an epic way to begin: with Sabbath-like head nodding riffs and Bruce Lamont’s trademark howl.

The album, of course, never repeats this formula. That, you may have guessed, it one of its greatest strengths. There is no pinning this one down.

Following on the heels of “Fallen” is the short acoustic “Coh” which might seem interstitial on another band’s record but here plays out for what it is. It comes creaking to an end and blends seamlessly into the aforementioned “Pastures,” which is grand in the grandest sense of the word. Here’s where some perfectly placed piano comes into play. Like everything else on this record it fits so snugly that you might miss it at first.

Descent regains its true heavy on the 11-plus minute “Dead Inside.” Another rumbler, “Dead Inside” boasts more of a post-rock guitar sound before suddenly finding a killer little riff and vocals that teeter on manic. The second half of this song is maybe the highlight of the album as it veers further away from the sound of the rest. This is saying a lot about an album that sounds consistent but never the same twice. Piano takes on a bigger part as the song squeals and churns to its end. It’s a bit akin to the newer Americana version of Earth but with big ass drums.

After nine minutes of the rambling and then suddenly going all riff-centric with “Slave Rule,” the album ends with “Obituary,” a very metal take on a surf rock-like guitar line. Easily the noisiest of the batch, the relatively short four-plus minute song is maybe an unexpected ending. By album’s end any sort of expectation is completely shattered.

So, an album that I’m sure most Chicago metalheads had high hopes for completely exceeded mine. I was more than ready for an ambient metal Americana record. As much of an oxymoron as that sounds, the 21st century has seen the definition of metal broaden significantly. By any definition, though, Bloodiest have given us a metal record. One of the most creative and diverse ones to come along in quite some time.

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BLOODIEST
10:00 p.m. Saturday, April 9
Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave.
21+. $8.
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