Caustic
Caustic turns heaviness into a setting that is difficult to escape. Primitive Man distort the guitars intensely, keep rhythms low and slow, and place a deep, harsh voice against them. The sound remains under continuous pressure. Yet the music involves more than playing louder and slower. Details within riffs and noise keep the tension moving.
My Will opens with feedback and heavy rhythmic movement. Guitar has a rough, densely packed tone, but the pattern underneath remains clear enough to follow. The band use that direction to make the distortion feel increasingly large. Rhythmic space between blows gives the sound weight.
Victim introduces more pace and more prominent riffs. Drums sharpen the movement while Ethan Lee McCarthy's voice preserves the threat. That change gives the record another kind of energy without opening up the atmosphere. The groove stays heavy and uncomfortable enough to fit the slower passages.
Short sound pieces offer little genuine rest either. They interrupt the longer songs with static and another form of tension. Inevitable brings the layers back together through abrasive guitars, experimental sounds and forceful drums. The band keep those ingredients close enough for the music to register as a whole.
Its scale remains a considerable barrier. Sustained pressure and a dark sound make this difficult to leave playing casually in the background. Not every passage stands out equally sharply within that mass. Even so, Caustic is convincingly constructed. Riffs have recognisable differences, and distortion consistently serves a clear purpose. Primitive Man make exceptionally heavy music whose force comes mainly from cohesion and persistence. The album demands considerable commitment, but its best moments justify the effort.
