Clearly aware that they'd have a hard time topping the title chosen for their first album, 2006's Thunderf**k, Chicago's
Raise the Red Lantern took the eponymous route for their follow-up, three years later. But the images conjured by that forceful title certainly carry over into the brazen music characterizing this sophomore behemoth, which was recorded in the band's hometown by engineer/musician
Sanford Parker (
Minsk,
Nachtmystium,
Buried at Sea, etc.). Beginning with the aptly named "Ritual in Cm,"
Raise the Red Lantern establish their modern, not quite post-metal stomping grounds, where complex guitar weavings and the pervasive grime of Southern-style sludge forestall any chance that the material might get too civilized. In fact, Arkansas heavyweights
Rwake emerge as an obvious touchstone on this and subsequent standouts like "Thick as Thieves" and "Seduction of Slumber," while "Oracle" suggests post-metal stylings (think
Pelican,
Isis, etc.) so filthy and corroded that they are barely recognizable as such. And nestled amidst all this controlled chaos is the unexpected overdriven bass solo, "Deliver Us/Deliverance," which transfigures Cliff Burton's "Anasthesia (Pulling Teeth)" for the post-
Kyuss universe. Through it all,
Raise the Red Lantern inevitably project a distinct nasty streak, equally prone to fits of metallic abandon à la
High on Fire or
Saviours as it is to relapses into the bandmembers' hardcore upbringing, thereby virtually guaranteeing a physical response from listeners, whether they love it or hate it. Chances are they won't hate it, though. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia