While Norway is infamously known for its black metal, it turns out there is quite a gem hidden in the city of Stavanger. Jagged Vision, a Sludge Metal five piece, has come out of hiding with their sophomore release, Death is This World (Fysisk Format).Jagged Vision puts together a great mixture of doom metal and hardcore punk with a sprinkle or two of black metal influences that is sure to please. At one moment is a catchy guitar riff and the next is a breakdown at the drop of a hat.

One of the better examples of having black metal influences is ‘I Am Death’. Blast beats are heard through most of the track with tremolo guitar picking. Add in a few passages that will get your headbanging and you have a killer mid-album track. The very next song, ‘Feeble Souls’, may be the most memorable one on Death is This World for its chorus alone. Outside of the Mastodon influence in the main guitar riff, the chorus passage with the vocal patterns that fly over the top really steal the spotlight. On the other side of the spectrum is ‘Seven Seals’ complete with bluesy guitar riffs and a face melting solo. Thunderous drumming rounds out the song to add just the right amount of aggression to this short yet sweet burner.

Jagged Vision made it hard for me to cut down my review to three songs while just about all ten of them got my blood boiling. Death is This World may just be the album that places the Norwegian Sludge fivesome up a few more notches in their quest to get some serious global attention. After the obvious classics in the genre, this is the record that newer fans of sludge metal should be picking up next.

7.5/10

TIM LEDIN