Album Review: Mild - Boss
Reviewed by Rob Barker
Lincoln sludge/doom/stoner trio Mild put out their debut album Boss on April 9th. The world (including myself) having heard nothing of the band before now, all I had to prepare myself was a few short sentences from the bank likening themselves to sludge heavyweights Iron Monkey, post-metal giants Neurosis and stoner-metal very-big-lads Bongzilla. With a promise of something heavy, shouty and riffy I gave Boss a good listen, and then I gave it a few more listens cos, not gonna lie, this delivered what it said it would.
The album kicks off with I.C.P, and we’re straight in with no warning other than the double gunshot of a short couple of drum hits, making way into blistering noise. Vocals chop and change between the black metal screeches of bassist Joe and the more beatdown/hardcore bark of guitarist Mark. This capped off with highly accomplished musicianship from both of the aforementioned, and tribal, abrasive and technical drumming laid down from Scott. The track twists throughout it’s fairly long running time into a very “stoner” inspired riff in comparison to the heavy doom start – this change in direction is delivered with an unexpected subtlety for such a heavy band, and before you know it we’re in full Kyuss mode.
Fission Mailed comes in next with a very harsh slap of a transition in comparison to the groove of the end of I.C.P. Much more of the Neurosis influence coming through with this one, with aggression reminisce of Chat Pile and filthy, discordant guitar making it impossible not to make an ugly frowny stank face and nod along to the nastiness of the groove. Outro riff is just the right mixture of dry, raw, and unpolished, whilst simultaneously having been produced to excellence by Joe Dickinson at Playing Aloud Studios. If I had to pick (and I don’t), this is my favourite track of the album.
Reckless next – shifting to a notable hardcore-punk beat and vibe for the first three-or-so minutes before changing again into an outro that feels more at home back in stoner territory. A conspicuously shorter track in compared to the first two offerings, but by no means less effective or powerful for this.
Drowning in fuzz and scream-along hooks, Dad Brown gives an atmosphere akin to a heavier, more primal reincarnation of Acid Bath. Boss concludes with the plodding, marching beats of Severed Head Syndrome, showcasing an unexpectedly abrupt ending to the album and insisting on repeated listening.
Mild have done a grand job for their first release, and Boss deserves to be listened to and taken seriously. Lyrically, Mild cover a range of topics from capitalism to misogyny, from aging to drink and drug culture, all with a sarcastic and satirical eye on the state of the world we live in. You get a good feel of how fearsome the band will be in a live setting from listening, and it demands to be played loud and obnoxiously on repeat. Good work.
