Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content

THE HEADBANGING MOOSE

PURE F****N' METAL!

THE HEADBANGING MOOSE

Main menu

  • Home
  • Album Reviews
    • 2023 New Releases
    • 2022 New Releases
    • 2021 New Releases
    • 2020 New Releases
    • 2019 New Releases
    • 2018 New Releases
    • 2017 New Releases
    • 2016 New Releases
    • 2015 New Releases
    • 2014 New Releases
    • 2013 New Releases
    • Classic Albums
  • Concert Reviews
    • Toronto, ON
    • Rest of Canada
    • Rest of the World
  • Other Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Metal Chick of the Month
  • Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio
  • Media
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Partners
  • Facebook
  • Mixcloud
  • Contact Us

Tag Archives: slowly falling off a cliff

Album Review – Escape Is Not Freedom / Surrounded By The Great Nothing (2020)

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Gustavo Scuderi
Reply

A raw, multi-layered fusion of noise, sludge and grunge by three old men from Chicago who still like to play rock music.

Describing themselves as “three old men who still like to play rock music“, Chicago, Illinois-based three-piece outfit Escape Is Not Freedom definitely knows how to combine elements of rock, noise, sludge and grunge in their creations, resulting is a feast of catchy and melodic sounds reminiscent of Nirvana, Soundgarden and The Melvins, to name a few. After the releases of their debut EP The Truants, in 2015, and their first full-length albums Goldsmith, in 2017, it’s time for Mike Gussis on vocals and guitar, Josh Parlette (from Soul Attrition, whose album Vashon Rain was reviewed at The Headbanging Moose not a long time ago) also on vocals and on bass and Darrin Wolf on drums to blast more of their first-class Sludge and Noise with their sophomore full-length effort, titled Surrounded By The Great Nothing. Produced by Shane Hochstetler at Howl Street Recordings and mastered by Carl Saff at Saff Mastering, Surrounded By The Great Nothing continues to blend the band’s personal experiences with their dark humor and, of course, with an endless amount of distortions and noise, cementing the trio as one of the most interesting names of the genre not only in their hometown but also in the international scene.

And eerie, distorted noises already permeate the air in the opening track Brick, a modern-day Sludge and Stoner Metal tune with Mike kicking ass with his enraged riffs and deranged vocals while Josh and Darrin keep the atmosphere as thunderous as possible with their rumbling instruments, resulting in a thrilling welcome card by the band for newcomers to their musical world. Their powerful exhibit of madness and distortions goes on in Boomslang, with Darrin dictating the pace with his classic beats, alternating between more obscure, heavier moments and serene and melancholic passages; followed by Freezer Burn, where the band ventures through more contemporary styles such as Post-Metal and Indie Rock. Moreover, Mike continues to bark and roar rabidly while Josh blasts sheer heaviness through his bass punches, getting darker and more piercing as the music progresses.

Portraying a truly austere name, Drinking Bleach is a slashing and crisp song where the insanity flowing from Mike’s screams is effectively complemented by his dirty riffs and Darrin’s crushing beats, turning it into one of the most incendiary songs of the album, whereas Leonard is another solid display of Sludge and Post-Metal featuring the scorching guitars by Mike and the ominous bass punches by Josh, recommended for fans of the most aggressive side of Nirvana and going on for over eight minutes with all band members putting us on some sort of grim trance. Then, as opposed to its predecessor, Ruined Ground brings a more serene and introspective vibe, with Josh darkly declaiming its lyrics while Darrin smashes his drums slowly and steadily, bringing a good amount of distress to our hearts.

Back to a more vicious sonority, the trio offers the melodic and mesmerizing Underwater Birth, where Mike and Josh are in absolute sync with their metallic strings, resulting in an amazing option for banging your head alone in the dark and letting their Sludge Metal penetrate deep inside your mind, while in Slowly Falling off a Cliff it’s time to slam into the circle pit to the crushing metal music blasted by those three rockers, again fluctuating between demented sounds and ethereal moments and, consequently, elevating the album’s aggressiveness and wickedness to a whole new level, all spiced up by Mike’s flammable riffs. The second to last song from the album, Acid Blood, sounds like a more obscure version of Alice In Chains infused with Sludge Metal nuances, with Josh adding tons of groove to the music with his bass, not to mention this is perhaps the song where he delivers his most personal vocal performance. And lastly acoustic guitars ignite the closing tune entitled Rhea, evolving into a dense and melancholic extravaganza where Josh and Darrin bring forward a precise balance between heaviness and finesse.

In a nutshell, although Escape Is Not Freedom might not be considered a pure metal band, I personally believe they have what it takes to conquer the hearts of most metalheads from all over the world with their heavier-than-usual rock and grunge, with Surrounded By The Great Nothing being the perfect depiction of what they’re capable of and what we can expect in their future releases. Hence, don’t forget to follow Mike, Josh and Darrin on Facebook, and to buy Surrounded By The Great Nothing from their own BandCamp page, where you can by the way find all of their previous albums for sale as well. As the name of the band states, escaping from someone or something doesn’t necessarily mean freedom, but at least the music found in Surrounded By The Great Nothing can provide you a very entertaining escape from your daily struggles.

Best moments of the album: Drinking Bleach, Underwater Birth and Slowly Falling off a Cliff.

Worst moments of the album: Boomslang.

Released in 2020 Independent

Track listing
1. Brick 4:46
2. Boomslang 5:22
3. Freezer Burn 4:07
4. Drinking Bleach 4:03
5. Leonard 8:14
6. Ruined Ground 6:09
7. Underwater Birth 5:33
8. Slowly Falling off a Cliff 5:25
9. Acid Blood 6:14
10. Rhea 5:45

Band members
Mike Gussis – vocals on “Brick”, “Freezer Burn”, “Drinking Bleach”, “Leonard” and “Underwater Birth”, guitar
Josh Parlette – vocals on “Boomslang”, “Ruined Ground”, “Slowly Falling off a Cliff”, “Acid Blood” and “Rhea”, bass
Darrin Wolf – drums

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
Posted in 2020 New Releases | Tagged alternative rock, carl saff, chicago, darrin wolf, drinking bleach, escape is not freedom, grunge, howl street recordings, illinois, indie rock, josh parlette, mike gussis, noise, post-metal, saff mastering, shane hochstetler, slowly falling off a cliff, sludge, sludge metal, stoner metal, surrounded by the great nothing, underwater birth, united states | Leave a reply

The Headbanging Moose | Facebook

The Headbanging Moose | Facebook

Recent Posts

  • Album Review – Lasskahl / Seasons EP (2023)
  • Concert Review – Dark Funeral (The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 05/27/2023)
  • Album Review – Lucifuge / Monoliths of Wrath (2023)
  • Album Review – Unearth / The Wretched; The Ruinous (2023)
  • Concert Review – Helloween (History, Toronto, ON, 05/23/2023)
  • Album Review – Crimson Day / Crimson Day (2023)
  • Album Review – Dysease / Era of Decay EP (2023)
  • Album Review – Brimstone Gate / Return from the Brimstone Portal (2023)
  • Concert Review – Wacken Metal Battle Canada Final (Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON, 05/13/2023)
  • Album Review – Hyl / Where Emptiness Is All (2023)

The Headbanging Moose Show | Mixcloud

Archives

Enter your email address to follow The Headbanging Moose and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 90 other subscribers
Follow THE HEADBANGING MOOSE on WordPress.com

RECOMMENDED SITES

  • Angry Metal Guy
  • Antichrist Magazine
  • Blabbermouth.net
  • Blog do Léo – THE INFORMETAL
  • Bound by Metal
  • Dark Lyrics
  • Inertia Entertainment
  • Lordi Army
  • MetalSucks
  • Metalzone.gr
  • Midnight Madness Metal e-Radio
  • ORCHESTRALMETAL.COM
  • Portal do Inferno
  • Rádio Coringão
  • Regis Tadeu
  • Rocktato

RSS Blabbermouth.net

  • PARADISE LOST To Embark On 'Embers Of Europe' Fall 2023 Tour With MY DYING BRIDE
  • Former DOKKEN Drummer MICK BROWN: 'I Haven't Touched A Drum Stick In Two Years'
  • Watch FOREIGNER Perform In Fort Yates, North Dakota
  • MÖTLEY CRÜE And DEF LEPPARD Announce November 2023 Australian Tour
  • DISTURBED's DAVID DRAIMAN Says Tumor Removed From Arm Has Turned Out To Be Benign
  • STEVE VAI Announces Summer 2023 'Inviolate' North American Tour Dates
  • M. SHADOWS Admits AVENGED SEVENFOLD Was Behind Alleged Hack That Falsely Announced Festival Cancelations
  • Watch Pro-Shot Video Of METALLICA Performing 'King Nothing' In Paris During 'M72' Tour
  • SLIPKNOT's COREY TAYLOR Opens Up About Challenges Of Raising His Son While Being A Touring Musician
  • Watch: PANTERA Joined By MAYHEM's ATTILA CSIHAR For 'Walk' Performance At Budapest Concert

Recent Comments

Concert Review – Dar… on Album Review – Dark Funeral /…
Concert Review – Dar… on Concert Review – Cannibal Corp…
Album Review – Lucif… on Album Review – Lucifuge / Infe…
Concert Review – Hel… on Album Review – Helloween / Hel…
Scott on Album Review – Solborn / Dark…

Support The Headbanging Moose!

Hosting Expenses

Help us cover hosting expenses by donating to our webzine!

C$1.00

Member of The Internet Defense League

Follow Us

  • Facebook

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

RSS Feed RSS - Comments

Blog Stats

  • 743,708 hits

Top Posts & Pages

  • Metal Chick of the Month – Tatiana Shmayluk
  • Metal Chick of the Month – Nadja Peulen
  • Concert Review – Dark Funeral (The Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, 05/27/2023)
  • Concert Review – Helloween (History, Toronto, ON, 05/23/2023)
  • Metal Chick of the Month – Johanna Sadonis

Pages

  • Media
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Partners
  • Contact Us
Blog at WordPress.com.
  • Follow Following
    • THE HEADBANGING MOOSE
    • Join 90 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • THE HEADBANGING MOOSE
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: