Review from EXCLAIM Magazine!:
Like a primordial behemoth rising from the darkest depths, Kansan dirge-dealers Jumbo’s Killcrane have deviated significantly from last year’s prog-sludge Carnaval De Carne record. Instead of pursuing their bio’s Nirvana-meets-Eyehategod touchstone, the trio dove headlong into the tar pits and emerged a different monster altogether: less prog, more sludge, with tunes averaging seven minutes a pop. After a lengthy intro of drone noise somewhere between early Pink Floyd and Stinking Lizaveta, the title track immediately kicks in with the band’s seething neo-dirge à la Grief. Guitarist/vocalist Erik Jarvis’ gargling tones vacillate between Iron Monkey’s Johnny Morrow (RIP) and Corrosion of Conformity’s Pepper Keenan. There’s even a point in "Brown" where the band throws a change-up, switching from their plodding doom over to Coalesce-inspired metalcore ... but only for a minute. "Locust Blanket" resembles the almost-random beats and chords of Harvey Milk, while "Coital Abyss" replaces the usual loping pace with a semi-gallop (in doom terms, at least). Album closer, "Die, Stabbed," finally reprises their former prog stylings, though still allotting ample time for Jarvis’ tangential solos. A converse to their more math-y records, The Slow Decay is more deliberately doomier to sate fans of the heavy.
Review from Iann Robinson in METAL SLUDGE:
Remember the dueling banjo scene in Deliverance? Well take out the banjo and add grimy sludgecore and you basically have Jumbo Killcrane. This is ugly, brutal, slow music, angry to it’s core and violent in it’s execution. Fucking killer stuff.
Review from IN MUSIC WE TRUST:
"Have you ever noticed in the movies that whenever a
character is being tormented by a demonic force or
maybe even entering the expanse of the underworld that
everything seems to move in slow motion for them?
That they seem to progress as if they have become
embedded in amber? JUMBO'S KILLCRANE is the musical
equivalent of that. This is tortured music that
literally crawls out of the speakers and overwhelms
the listener. It's like being buried alive. slowly.
You get the impression when listening to "The Slow
Decay" that if distortion and syncopated beats were a
tangible commodity for trade that JUMBO'S KILCRANE
would have a corner on the market. Superior sludge.
Absolutely!" - Jeb Brannin
Review from DEAD ANGEL :
The Killcrane return with yet more bludgeoning math-metal, opening with a feedback dirge and the occasional flurry of percussion on "intro" before seguing into the thundering crawl of "the slow decay" -- which itself turns into a racing slab of menace. This disc is different from their earlier releases; my memory's a tad shaky, but I'm pretty sure the guy beating up the drum kit this time is a new addition, and their sound has become leaner, more straightforward, and less reliant on the tricky-riff thing. Which is not to say that they'll be mistaken for AC/DC anytime soon -- there's still plenty of proggy moves in their seismic assault, and their penchant for velocity makes them far more forbidding than anything you're likely to hear on the radio. The songs are long (mostly between seven and nine minutes), allowing plenty of time for radical shifts in direction, tempo, riffs, mass, velocity, defiance of gravity.... The lurching properties of sludge-rock in the vein of Eyehategod and Grief shows up in "brown," while "locust blanket" combines rapid-fire drumming and stun-guitar riffs. There's even a bluesy element to the guitar lines that shows up from time to time, especially on "coital abyss," but as "die, stabbed" proves, they haven't forgotten their origins as a stop 'n start machine weaned on sick riffs and weird time changes. They've just streamlined the engine and torqued it for more horsepower, that's all. Their evolution doesn't stray far enough from the earlier stuff to scare away the devoted, but by clarifying the sound and making it just a tad simpler (and thus marginally easier to digest), they may well win over a whole new boatload of head-shakin', math-lovin' metal geeks. The men of the Killcrane do not embarrass themselves here....
Review from AVERSIONLINE :
After a brief intro of droning feedback and sparse percussion, this trio of sludge merchants launches right into the aptly titled "The Slow Decay", with its pulsing rhythm and seething vocal screams creating a very sister wall of bleak doom, continuing to spice up the traditional framework with lots of winding math metal styled riffing and occasionally creative takes on 70's styled dual guitar runs. There are some hints at singing or spoken passages on occasion, but for the most part the vocals are quite an ominous attack, with just a little bit of a filter for added effect. Most of the songs are quite long (averaging seven to eight minutes each, give or take) but there are ample tempo changes to keep things interesting, using lots of stuttered chord progressions and midpaced rumblings, in addition to some slower and darker works more akin to the usual fare of "stoner rock"/doom type of stuff. I'd almost like to see more of an emphasis on the sinister side of things, as the quirkier riffing definitely lends a very different feel to the songs, while the slower chords often become quite powerfully atmospheric. The somewhat shorter "Locust Blanket" slows down to a killer crunch in its latter moments with a few subtle melodic underpinnings; and "Die, Stabbed." gets into some spacious riffing that lets the bass have a little more roaming room, as well as containing some distant lead lines for its closing instrumental break. "The Slow Decay", however, is definitely the strongest song herein, and it just so happens to revolve more around the band's heavy hitting doomy side. The recording is very nice this time out. Stronger than the last record, with a thick and gritty sense of distortion textures applied to both the bass (pulsing and throbbing a lot) and the guitars (nice and fuzzed out). The percussion sounds totally natural, and the vocals rest right in with the instrumentation, so as a whole the mix is warm and full. I don't really have any complaints, honestly. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it suits them well. I'm torn on the layout. Something about it is a little plain and choppy, perhaps the photography isn't quite crisp enough or the typeface needs work, but it's almost there, as the style of the imagery and the simplicity are pretty nice. No lyrics are included, just a onecard insert with minimal text credits, so...This is a strong effort overall. There are a few lulls where it can start to wear thin with lots of rhythmic repetition and such, but looking at the big picture it's cool to see a band taking a different spin to this style without going so far that it would alienate the genre's more faithful listeners. Not bad.
Review from METAL REVIEW webzine :
As a reviewer, I get a lot of cds handed to me. It's great, I love it and have no complaints. However, some of these albums get tossed the moment I'm finished reviewing them, and many more sit on a shelf, where they may or may not be played again. On the other hand, it's cool to get an album from a band you like and even cooler to get a good album from a new band you didn't know about. But the best of all is when you get a good album from a band you didn't know, who also has a decent sized back catalog. Man, that's like Christmas, except of course that I have to buy the rest of the presents. Kansas' Jumbo's Killcrane is one of those bands. The Slow Decay is the fourth album from the trio of sludge wizards, and leaves me wondering how in the hell I haven't heard of these guys before.
The album opens with a two minute introduction track, creatively titled "Intro", that has a shimmering "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" feeling. That doesn't last long, as the track is overtaken by a blanket of murk that remains for the remainder of the album. The first proper song is also the title track and the best song on the album. Listening to this track the first time, I was curious how the band would feel about me comparing them to Nirvana, as I was immediately struck by how much this sounds like a metal companion to the seminal album Bleach. It obviously doesn’t have the same punkish sound, and readers not intimately familiar with Bleach should not be put off by the Nirvana comparison (I repeat..there are no later Nirvana "Smells Like Teen Spirit" moments). It turns out that the band has no complaints at all with this comparison, as the label describes this album as a mixture of Nirvana's Bleach and Eyehategod. That sounds right to me, although I also hear a Melvins influence, and maybe even a small bit of early Soundgarden.
To borrow from Bon Scott: If you want sludge, you got it. The Slow Decay is packed with grimy distorted riffs that rapidly alternate between slow and doomish and aggressive mid-tempo crunch. The drumming is one of the strong points on the album. It has a loose, improvised feel that uses alternating patterns and interesting fills, rather than predictable snare/bass/cymbal combinations. The drumming, combined with the frequent tempo changes, gives the songs an agile, muscular feel that gives you the idea these guys go from zero to sixty to zero in a split second, and still never get out of third gear. The motor oil and acid dripping, rabid growling bark is challenging but a perfect match for the songs. The vocals are down in the mix, but the sound suits the style. The songs are typically about eight minutes long and follow a consistent formula, so it is possible that some listeners will feel that the album bogs down a little. No complaints from me though, the parade of slow, fuzzy riffs and pummeling gallop goes on from one track to the next, and before I know it, the album has ended.
You can check out an mp3 for "Die, Stabbed" on the band's website. I don’t find it to be one of the stand out tracks, but it's a good song and definitely gives you a flavor for the band's style. The Slow Decay was a pleasant find for me, and I'll be working my way backwards through the band's discography. Fans of sludge will be well pleased.
Review from DEADTIDE WEBZINE:
Don't ask me about the name, I don't quite get it either. The music on the other hand I get, and I dig it. This is the sonic equivalent of having an elephant sit on your chest. This is slow, plodding, crushing doom from Kansas. However they aren't afraid to turn the tempo up on occasion just to keep things interesting but still heavy. There is no break from the heaviness on this album, no sanctuary to be found anywhere, unless you turn your stereo off, but there's no reason to do that. Jumbo’s Killcrane actually refer to themselves as doom-prog, although most of the usual prog annoyances are not to be found anywhere, namely the incessant instrumental masturbation that is prog. The most prog element would be the drumming which is strangely off time though extremely effective. Off time is not the best way to describe it, but it's the best one I can think of. They also throw in a few melodic parts here and there, which is most assuredly not a staple of the doom genre. The bass is the reason the subwoofer was invented, even if these guys are a risk to blow your subwoofer out, as well as your mind. The vocals are oddly distorted and have a tinge of deathgrowl to them. I have no idea what goes through the minds of these crazed gentlemen, but I was very happy to find out they have 3 more discs of it, which I must obviously acquire somehow. Total off the wall headcrushing madness, this is how its done. This is not an album, this is the work of three mad scientists who all happen to play instruments. Here's to alchemy.
Review from HOUSE OF SMUT:
For the longest time, sludge as a form has found itself in a predicament similar to the one that destroyed "stoner rock"--too much parody and not enough originality. Still, every now and then some grime practitioners will come along with just enough of a fresh take on things to breathe new life into the style. Enter Jumbo's Killcrane. On their fourth album, The Slow Decay, they provide a listen much better than the typical Eyehategod cookie cuttery that has made sludge go stale.
Of all the things that make The Slow Decay a worthwhile disc, its sense of roots tops the list. Obvious comparisons would lead one to point towards a band like Weedeater. However, there's also a sort of AmRep slant to this music, making Jumbo's Killcrane a potential revelation for fans of groups such as the Jesus Lizard, Helmet, and the Melvins. This stuff is slow, low, and fuzzed, but with that huffing-paint-behind-the-shed pissed off quality of yore. Add a penchant for prog influenced shifts in riff and time signature, and you're looking at a pretty special offering.
As crushing as The Slow Decay is in its entirety, moments of standout shine brightest for their subtle uniqueness. The vocals on "Coital Abyss" create a life sucking vortex of negativity, while the anguished vox of "Brown" winds up the sonic eqivalent of poking caged tweakers with a stick. The album's title track boasts a noodly psych-tinged lead, with "Die, Stabbed" slipping into jazz territory a bit, very Eastern feeling during its main solo.
So, if you're tired of the same old EHG hero worship, Jumbo's Killcrane have you covered. By acknowledging a deeper and wider array of influences than the competition, The Slow Decay comes out a winner. The press release for this bad boy says the guys will be on the road with Weedeater soon, so if you want to experience drugged out hell on Earth, make sure to catch one of those shows. Agoraphobic or otherwise, this disc will suffice as a fitting substitute for in-the-flesh consumption, though.
Review from SEA OF TRANQUILITY:
Just when I thought I had nailed down what Jumbo’s Killcrane were all about after hearing the very Sabbath like title track of their latest CD, things get really twisted: mathematical epics such as "Brown" and "Coital Abyss" unsmilingly pulverize the brains but they also tease what's left of the intellect with as many time signature shifts as your average Opeth or even Gentle Giant. According to the promotional sheets, Jumbo’s Killcrane are a "prog-sludgecore" trio from Kansas. Aside from the aforementioned bands, I also hear early Nirvana and a whole host of stoner doom rock groups. This is a very heavy metal band and they come up with memorable riffs as if they were falling out of the sky. But they complement those riffs with angular and jazzy arrangements, meaning a few listens are necessary to become accustomed to the melodies. Did I really just say melodies? Nah, Jumbo’s Killcrane would rather bludgeon the shit out of you and leave you whimpering in a puddle of warm bile just wishing somebody would kindly empty a shotgun chamber into your head. The Slow Decay is clearly not for the faint of heart or for the suicidal but it rules.
Review from ZERO MAGAZINE:
Kansas’ own, Jumbo’s Killcrane, have done it again. Releasing another weighty album filled with the necessary doom you crave, especially when you have to go slay some monsters, in slow motion. The album aptly titled The Slow Decay, oozes out of your speakers at a pace a notch above a snail’s crawl. In the world of Sludge, this band is among the supreme beings.
The name sludge carries with it a particular connotation, that which perfectly fits the description of this music; dirty, grimy, slimy and swamp-soaked. That right there is exactly the music that is rolling out of Jumbo’s Killcrane’s instruments. The vocals are a torturous growl that one might expect from a wild beast on the prowl. It is time to travel to the muddy waters of the unknown territory of The Slow Decay and see how long you can survive.
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