DESCRIPTION:
Hee.

Never thought I’d reach this point, to post something sludge-y. Nu metal has always been at the butt-end of jokes for me, and in my impressionable little mind of mine, sludge can be an extension of that joke. I don’t have anything against it as a genre, at all, it’s just really easy to poke fun at. No other genre brings such strong visions of middle-aged fathers half-assedly slam-dancing in some makeshift stage built in their brother-in-law’s backyard, while desperately tugging at the waistband of their cargo shorts to prevent the weight of the cell phone belt-clip from pulling their shorts down. Really specific scenario, I know, but I’ve seen things that humans aren’t meant to see. So, in a sense, I love all forms of sludge, while simultaneously shying away from it for fear of accidentally becoming that middle-aged father. That happens a lot when I ironically love things. Like, I used emojis ironically back when I first got my hands on a smart phone, but now I can’t help but use them in every other message I send. Letting my friend know that I’ll be meeting him at his place to swim in ten minutes? Better thrown a surfing emoji in there for good measure. Having a good day? I should let someone know by sending them a smiling-sun emoji. Getting upset at my roommate because he didn’t wash the dishes like I told him to? I’m sending that cocksucker a handgun emoji.

So, naturally, I was a little skeptical with Leashed. They’re a group hailing from Oklahoma City, who—despite all of this talk about sludge—play something that’s clearly more reminiscent of punk, than anything. The sludge influence is still undeniable, so I felt that it’d be more appropriate to bring that up first, as to not set up anticipations for it being yet another instance of ass-blasting hardcore on this channel. It’s an entirely-unique entity when compared to the rest of the garbage on here, though I do genuinely enjoy it, a lot actually. John, who handles vocals, contacted me a few days back to ask if it would be cool to share his band with me, saying that it was already released on tape by City Baby. My ears perked up instantly once he said that last bit; I’ve posted stuff from City Baby’s label in the past, namely Obscene Noize Life !! and Laughter, so I could only assume that Leashed would match or exceed the high bar that those two bands set in place. I would’ve agreed to post it based on that notion alone, but once John sent me the recordings, I knew that it’d definitely be worth posting. I agreed to share, and subsequently prodded for any surplus information about his band that would help me out in the writing process, but I got nothing more out of him aside from the band’s members: Jake on guitar, another Jake on drums, Vicente on bass, and “Duddles” on vocals. So if you were hoping to get an insider’s scoop on all things Leashed, then you’re shit out of luck. Thanks John: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbVdyPZiOLM

I’ll forgive him though, because his band is pretty cool. Leashed plays an absolutely-crushing brand of punk that’s got enough harsh, abrasive grooves intermingling with their palpable aggression to warrant the “sludge” classification. John’s vocals infrequently alternates between throaty, imposing roars to unfaltering speeches as the music’s tempo governs it, either through dense rhythms or an intimidating, rapid-fire pace. No matter what track the group locks themselves onto, they absolutely destroy with their depraved mixture of hard-hitting punk and crawling sludge, especially due to the burly bass lines and nomadic drumbeats. Their music does more than enough to prevent itself from growing stale, such as the somberly-spoken delivery of "Waste" and the ferocious noodling that follows it, or the droning tones that preface "Worthless", effectively ensnaring your attention for the entire duration of this six-track tape . It's just as destructive as any other form of punk on my channel, rather slowly crushing your head in a vise with its heavy sounds as opposed to riddling your ears with a relentless tempo.

As I mentioned earlier, sludge-like projects aren’t my forte. I don’t have too much experience with music with that sort of influence, but having listened to Leashed, I can hopefully start to take it a little more seriously. But not nu metal though, nu metal will always be funny to me. I mean, I’m not a music snob or anything, and I don’t intend to look down on anyone for their tastes, but c’mon; it’s nu metal. Nu metal’s like the kid in grade school who’d pretend to be a dinosaur, running around roaring with his hands tucked into his chest and eating leaves and shit. He’s kinda asking to be teased.

No, I never pretended to be a dinosaur in grade school, what the hell gave you that idea? I ate leaves for the nutrients, alright? They're good for you.

TRACK LIST:
Grasping – 0:00
Failed Suicide – 1:42
Worthless – 3:06
Change – 5:39
Waste – 6:59
Anxiety – 8:36

DOWNLOAD: http://leashed.bandcamp.com/releases