COUGH

Doom, sludge, altered states, and good ole fashioned evil join together as one on COUGH's "Ritual Abuse". No matter you're answer to the question, "to be stoned or not to be," the Richmond, Virginia trio's five-track monolith is an upper quartile release that rides the line between sludge abrasiveness and otherworldly doom plod whilst accomplishing the most difficult of feats: keeping the interest of those outside of the niche-devoted.

Folks on the outside looking in may deem a collection that features three cuts in the 12-13-minute range, one at seven and one at nine, a daunting challenge for all but the dedicated. Fear not, as "Ritual Abuse" offers 54 minutes of mind expansion that is more ELECTRIC WIZARD than GRIEF. I'm not saying that the album will result in mass crossover appeal; not even close. It is just that songs like the 12-minute "Mind Collapse" and "A Year in Suffering" wow with riffs that capture attention from the onset and keep it for the duration by locking into slow grooves that are all about flow, as well as through the creation of subtle, yet wholly effective arrangement tweaks. The lead guitar parts never stray far from the song's beaten path, yet work to tingle the spine with co-vocalist Dave Cisco squeezing out each crackling note. The coup de grace is in the dual-vocal treatment. The pairing of caustic sludge scream and traditional stoner/doom is masterful in presentation.

Beyond the marathon plods, including the bruising, slow rolling title track, one hears movement toward the psychedelic center on "Crippled Wizard", one with smoother edges, a wicked ascending riff, and bass lines that lead instead of follow. "Crooked Spider" stays close to the spacey/trippy side as well with another dose of effusive soloing and a vague KYUSS vibe.

Overall, one could say that on "Ritual Abuse" COUGH prepares its meals with equal amounts seething sludge and mind-melting doom with no sacrifice of the power inherent in either style. When the words "Embrace the darkness / there's no escape / I chose this path / this is my fate" are sung on "A Year in Suffering" one begins to understand why it is that "Ritual Abuse" is so damn convincing in its approach.