Review / 200 Words Or Less
Blutch
Materia

At A Loss (2007) — Scottie

Blutch – Materia cover artwork
Blutch – Materia — At A Loss, 2007

It's pretty easy to play in a doom/black/death metal band: depending on the style either play extremely fast or extremely slow, and, again depending on style, make your recordings sound like they were either recorded inside a garbage can or in a muddy swamp. Because of this, it also makes to be easy to mediocre playing in such a genre. Since their isn't a lot of variation in the genre a band has to be really special to stick out.

Unfortunately this is not the case with Blutch, whose full length Materia fall far below being anything worth remembering. The album's main problem is the constant shift in style, often a jerky transition between black metal played so fast its hard to distinguish how many notes they're actually playing to ultra sludgy doom played so slow and low its hard to distinguish if they're even playing more than a single note.

Not bad, but simply not worth the time it takes to listen to the album. You're better off checking out anything off Southern Lord.

5.0 / 10 — Scottie • July 8, 2007

Blutch – Materia cover artwork
Blutch – Materia — At A Loss, 2007

Recently-posted album reviews

Alien Chicks

Toys Taken at Birth
Alcopop! Records (2026)

EP HIGHLIGHTS – “5/4” & “I Killed Uncle Ben” Those who haven’t heard of Alien Chicks by now are sorely missing out. The Brixton trio have been consistently dropping singles and EPs since at least 2022, with funky frenetic energy and a sonic nebula of art punk, jazz, math rock, rap and a whole lotta noise. Released on 2nd October … Read more

Drink Deep

In Reverse EP
Thirty Something Records (2026)

Upon first listen, those close to my age and who may share similar musical tastes may suspect that Drink Deep might be a band from Washington, D.C. For starters, the band takes its name from a Rites of Spring song, wears its influences on its literal sleeves (a brief glance at their social media presence will reveal members wearing official … Read more

Uncle Acid and the DeadBeats

Shapes of Midnight
Killer Candy Records (2026)

Stoner rock is one of the most astounding and incredible genres emerging in the rock scene today. It's a global phenomenon with countless bands across the world, plus various subgenres such as desert rock, stoner doom and psychedelic (heavily influenced by the original psychedelic bands of the '60s and '70s). At the forefront of this genre and in the vanguard … Read more