AMERICAN HERITAGE

That MASTODON's Bill Kelliher and BLACK COBRA's Rafa Martinez — more so than any other guests — play on AMERICAN HERITAGE's first album since 2006's "Millenarian" says a great deal about the sound of "Sedentary". Early-to-mid-period MASTODON and the sludgy, bass-heavy dynamics of BLACK COBRA figure prominently in describing the sound of "Sedentary", a fact that is anything but a knock; simply a recognition that the new album from the long-running Chicago act is without much in the way of surprises.

The majority of folks enamored with those now familiar locomotive tempos and the rumbling, somewhat angular, style will find little about which to nitpick. The disc attacks with teeth barred within a songwriting approach that offers a relative measure of diversity, which leaves little of anything that would impede one's need for speed and bludgeon. That doesn't change the fact that a song like "City of God" in particular sounds so much like MASTODON that those that weren't otherwise aware that this was the new AMERICAN HERITAGE album wouldn't know the difference. When standout "Fetal Attraction" (featuring a ripping solo from Kelliher) arrives with the most notable chorus on the album, the moment is one of pure rockin' bliss. To their credit AMERICAN HERITAGE is able to maintain momentum while bringing to the table a little compositional bob 'n weave within the standard song constructs. But only on occasion will most be able to dislodge thoughts of MASTODON or bands working off of a similar blueprint (e.g. HERO DESTROYED, BISON B.C.) from the brain. The degree to which that becomes an issue relates directly to one's musical preferences.

"Sedentary" is not short on the chunk 'n pummel and brings some pretty good songs as well. While it's not necessarily a major sticking point, the fact that so many other bands – MASTODON in particular — constantly pop up referentially throughout the album doesn't bode well for the maintenance of AMERICAN HERITAGE's identity. The complaint is a fairly significant one, but it is not damning because any way you look at it "Sedentary" rocks like a big hairy, club-wielding beast that hasn't eaten for days. That's still pretty damn convincing, even if it does make one wonder how the album would have been viewed had it been released several years earlier.