Houston’s Omotai is a sludge metal mammoth, which on paper sounds fan-freakin’-tastic. That is, if you enjoy your sludge metal at mammoth pace for an entire album. With overtones of a simplified Harvey Milk, a rudimentary Doomriders, and even waxing Mercyful Fate at times —check ‘Throats Of Snakes’ for the best example of some King Diamond-esque piping—, you’d think it’d be an engaging listen at least. Despite these influences from promising sources. It is with heavy heart, however, that I must say that Fresh Hell  turns out to be anything but.

Blame it on The Sword, Red Fang, Baroness and similar bands, but I’m just not into that whole sludge-meets-hard rock style that seems to be invading your local bar venue on a bi-weekly basis. It certainly has the heaviness to warrant the genre tag and potentially the ability to open for EyeHateGod as local support, but the appeal ends with repetition. Fresh Hell begins rotting as early as halfway through the first track ‘Get Your Dead Straight’, with its riffs scarcely stirring more than an inch further than what would make it truly interesting. The hardcore influence of the tracks ‘Laser Addict’ and ‘Back Office’ make my ears perk up, if only because they’re not inane lumbering workouts that test patience rather than inspire listening.

I feel as though the phrase ‘heard it all before’ applies woefully well to all seven songs here; from the Cave In piracy to the country fried grooves of Mastodon, it’s all sounding like the product of their influences rather than the promised Fresh Hell. There is some promise, yes, but overall it’s too easy to ignore amid a sea of similar sounding bands who have done the same better.

6.0/10

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Sean Pierre-Antoine