Band: EXCRUCIATION / BABYLON ASLEEP
Country: Switzerland / Germany
Title: Split
Label: Auric Records
Year: 2017
Style: Doom Death / Sludge Doom

Review:
Wow, with this split I actually realized I know Excruciation's sound even before the vocals kick in, actually from the first guitar riffs, they have that distinctive abrasive yet melodic at the same time tone that feels both haevy and soothing, which is a cool thing, not many bands can come to that point where they have their own identity... This split was released in a limited edition of only 100 CD copies and unfortunately my copy doesn't play, it has nothing recorded on it, so I had to review it from Bandcamp, hopefully that's only on my copy and the rest are good because this has to be enjoyed. There are also a tape and a vinyl version of this split if you don't like CD! Excruciation's song (there's only one song per band here) is 5 minutes long and starts with a semi-acoustic guitar that then builds up into a mid-tempo catchy Doom Metal song with Doom Death touches on both guitars and drums at its peak and ending with a Sepultura-like guitar fuzzy tone that's quite surprising.
Babylon Asleep is a new name to me, a duo from Germany that although was founded in 2014 has only a demo and a split prior to this. Their side is some sort of sinister, apocalyptic sounding Sludge Doom with occasional soft, soothing moments but still keeping a raw, abrasive, shouting vocal as main position supported at times by a semi-whispering industrialized one, with a Death Metal inspired fast paced rhythm somewhere in the middle to spice things up. To tell you the truth it made me curious of more stuff from this band, which is exactly the point of such a split. Good job, interesting approach!
Reviewed by Adrian
Rating: 9/10   7.5/10

Contact:
excruciation.bandcamp.com
babylonasleep.bandcamp.com
auricrecords.bandcamp.com