Guiltless＜Happy Meal Marble Vinyl＞

Chicago sludge-doom band Indian have developed a small following in the U.S. metal underground for their blend of downtuned riffs, surprising production touches (the last 90 seconds or so of album opener "No Grace" are gradually soaked in static, even as the rhythm section continues to hammer and churn), and focused intensity. Much of this is due to the input of Sean Patton, who's credited simply with "noise," but drummer Bill Bumgardner is crucial to Indian's power, too; his throbbing, tribal rhythms give their music more heft than the slow blues-unto-feedback of doomsters like Eyehategod or Grief. The one-two punch of the eight-minute death march "Guiltless" and the four-minute, double bass drum-driven "Guilty" is the album's centerpiece, and it's savagely assaultive but oddly cathartic at the same time, the soundtrack to curling up on your bedroom floor and screaming into a pillow. As with most sludge and doom metal, it all gets a little oppressive after 40 minutes, but taken one or two songs at a time, Guiltless is a potent album by a band with a lot of power and the talent to use it wisely. ~ Phil Freeman