UMUR "Curing" is the debut full-length studio album by US, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based doom/sludge/hardcore/noise rock act Dridge. The album was released through World Gone Mad Records in June 2021. Formed in 2011 Dridge´s preceding releases are the 2013 "Gritual" EP and the 2020 "Ruby" EP.

Dridge started out playing death/doom metal on the "Gritual" (2013) EP, but they significantly changed their style and sound on the "Ruby" (2020) EP, which features an experimental noise rock/hardcore/sludge/doom metal style, which is very hard to define. The material on "Curing" continue in the same "hard to define" sound of "Ruby" (2020) (with some additions and alterations, which will be described below). It´s noisy, heavy, dark, angsty, depressive, hypnotic, and almost ritualistic in style. I hear influences from early 80s post-punk artists (especially from Killing Joke), but unlike the material on "Ruby" (2020), Dridge have opted to include more distorted heavy sections again, which means that "Curing" occasionally is a pretty hard-edged, aggressive, and heavy release. The heavy distorted sections often remind me of Fudge Tunnel. Heavy, groove laden, and fuzz toned riffs, which make you want to bang your head and enter the mosh pit.

The vocals vary between angsty singing/speaking type vocals to aggressive shouting hardcore vocals. While the music style on "Ruby" (2020) certainly was intriguing, the addition of distorted and aggressive heavy parts to the atmospheric hypnotic post-punk sections is a wise move, as it makes "Curing" a much more varied release, and ultimately also lifts Dridge to a level where they deserve a lot of attention. So the songwriting is both adventurous, varied, and memorable, and add to that strong musicianship and a raw and powerful sounding production, and "Curing" is upon conclusion a high quality release from Dridge. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Ruby" is an EP release by US, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based doom/sludge/hardcore/noise rock act Dridge. The EP was independently released digitally and on cassette tape in January 2020. Dridge formed in 2011 and released the "Gritual" EP in 2013.

I´m not sure why it took the band 7 years to release something new, but listening to "Ruby", an almost complete change in style and sound might be one of the reasons. "Gritual" was a slow, heavy, and dark death/doom metal release, even occassionally venturing into even more slow and heavy funeral doom territory, but while "Ruby" is certainly also a very heavy release, the death/doom metal elements of "Gritual" are now gone from Dridge music. Instead Dridge now play an angsty, depressive noise rock/hardcore/sludge/doom metal style, which is hard to define and describe correctly. I hear an influence from early 80s Killing Joke and other post-punk acts from that era, but it´s just influences and Dridge definitely have their own sound. The vocals are often sung/spoken in a dark poetic form, and only occasionally burst into more aggressive shouting. Noisy "on the verge" of feedback guitars are one of the key elements of the band´s sound along with the hypnotic and ritualistic drumming.

The simplistic and almost ritualistic approach to playing and performing music is still intact from "Gritual", so in that respect Dridge haven´t changed the core of what they do. But they´ve changed the timbres and the influences (and of course the vocal style). "Ruby" features 3 tracks and a total playing time of 28:46 minutes (the cassette tape version features the same 3 tracks on both sides) and it´s an adventurous and relatively experimental listen. Featuring a well sounding production job, it´s in all departments a quality release and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Gritual" is an EP release by US, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based death/doom metal act Dridge. The EP was released digitally and on cassette tape in June 2013. Dridge formed in 2011 and "Gritual" is their first release.

Stylistically the material on "Gritual" is a combination of death/doom metal and heavier and slower funeral doom metal parts. It´s safe to say that "Gritual" is a brick heavy release featuring a gloomy and depressive atmosphere. The vocals are intelligible semi-growling, aggressive and pretty mean sounding. The death/doom metal sections remind me slightly of the New York death/doom metal act Winter and their 1990 album "Into Darkness". There´s some of the same almost ritualistic simplicity to the riffs and rhythms, which should (or could) have been pretty tedious, but work well here. Dridge understand the importance of variation, and although "Gritual" is predominantly a doomy release, they do incorporate mid-paced and slightly faster sections. The darkly atmospheric ambient section which dominates the mid-section of the title track is also a nice touch.

Featuring 3 tracks and a total playing time of 24:12 minutes (the cassette tape version features the same 3 tracks on both sides), "Gritual" is at all times an engaging listen, and although you won´t hear much here you haven´t heard before, Dridge are a well playing trio unit, who deliver their heavy music with both passion and conviction. "Gritual" also features a raw, heavy, and detailed sound production, suiting the material perfectly and upon conclusion it´s a good quality first release from Dridge. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is fully deserved.