Sickfist - 'Adrifft' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Oceans Of Green

2. Get Out

3. Breakdown

4. Periphery

5. A Thousand Ways To Die

6. Isolate

7. Let The Angels See Me

8. Reality Divorced

Sickfist are a very visceral band, 'Adrifft' is their first full-length release (2016 saw the release of their self-titled debut EP, which had earlier versions of two of the songs on this album on it). I found myself thinking of Queens Of The Stone Age, Kyuss, The Desert Sessions and a personal favourite Corrosion Of Conformity when listening to the music. Groove/Sludge/Doom Rock are terms sometimes thrown around, but I like to think of it as having a swing to it. The band do this very well, their riffs are catchy and tend to stick in your head for a good long while after listening, to the point where 'Adrifft' feels like a familiar friend now. Like any good Sludge/Doom Rock act, the lyrics are not the focus in these songs, necessary certainly, but it's much more about the feel and the riffs here and that's no bad thing, the riffs, as I mentioned, are quite catchy.

Very much a part of the charm of this music is that it can sometimes feel momentarily motionless but it is, in fact, evolving throughout and the grooves are given enough time that the riffs get under your skin, building throughout in a pleasing and spacious way.

Listening to this album one cannot help but think it should also be experienced live, the band sound like they love what they are doing and as mentioned do it very very well indeed. There's not a lot more that can go into this review without resorting to dissecting the minutiae, it's music that hits you in the guts, cleverly constructed and very satisfying to listen to but no in-depth analysis of a visceral experience such as listening to Sickfist could improve the experience or make it more intriguing than it already is, these guys are after all very good. So instead I will say that this is an album to go with your guts on, I enjoyed it a good deal, and anyone with a penchant for the Stoner/Doom/Groove/Sludge Rock scene will certainly not be in any way disappointed.