Callus - A Breath of Flesh Air

 Preston trio Callus return with A Breath of Flesh Air, two and a half years on from Hogpocalypse and the Through Blood, Sweat, Piss and Pain EP in 2017. Recorded at Foel Studio with Chris Fielding from Conan back in February, you notice the stunning album artwork (created by Ryan Hancock) and wonderful song titles such as 'Cinderstella' and 'Sludge Guzzler' before you even hit the play button. It's enough to draw anyone in...

I had seen the name 'Callus' on a few bills prior to seeing them in concert for the first time at Badgerfest in Manchester a few weeks ago. Their confident brand of progressive sludge metal has hints of Mastodon, Boss Keloid, Dvne and the like, but with an aggression and directness that nods unashamedly to acts like High on Fire. In the live arena, their downtuned riffs and energy absolutely crush, with a dual vocal attack that gives extra dimension and layering to their thick sound - which, somehow, only comes from three musicians. You get the impression very quickly that they're out there to make the music that they want to hear, with a vision for their own sound and songcrafting, and deserve commendation for this alone.

Callus kick Flesh Air off with 'Molar Crown' and a fuzzed out riff that makes way for an energetic, hardcore-infused groove. The guttural vocal interaction with the riffs add a real layer of power to the track - some of the background bellows coming from Chris Fielding as a guest vocalist on this song. A well-executed instrumental section sees Callus show off their stoner/doom chops before they launch into another pulse-racing verse. Over the last two minutes of the song, you're compelled by the power of The Riff as Callus lull you into a trance with a monolithic, hypnotic guitar line that breathes and evolves, before a long, slow fade to this epic opener. Next, the psychedelic, stoned out 'Ka-Tet', which was pre-released as a single, entices you to nod along with its groove. The vocal harmonies, drum patterns and clever guitar pull-offs are enough to keep you paying attention; overall, these two are a really strong start to the album.

'Cinderstella' starts with a creepy, Eastern-tinged clean guitar line, before the sound of a can (presumably, Stella Artois) opening signals the start of a turbo-charged, aggressive verse with double-bass kicks and aggravated screams. The hardcore energy doesn't let up for most of the song, until a devastatingly effective drop into half-time towards the end. The trio really make the sludgy breakdown work as a productive contrast to the fist-pumping spirit of the track's earlier section. 'Sorrow's Bane' gets the heads nodding with a fun stoner groove, before Callus show off their instrumental chops for the song's latter half. Although the song - like many here - is certainly quick and to the point, Callus show off their progressive flair with ease despite their direct approach to songwriting. 'Toadfish' has a real tinge of dark psychedelia with its utilisation of acoustic guitars and (what sounds like, although I could be wrong) tribal percussion, lulling you into another hypnotic trance. It was only when I started putting pen to paper for this review that I noticed it's a completely instrumental song; this is definitely something that works to the band's advantage. 

A Fairies Wear Boots-style swing opens 'Fatberg', the ten-minute centrepiece to Flesh Air; four of the other six songs on the album are notably below the 3:30 mark. Callus cleverly extend the second riff into an exploratory jam with some brilliant tomwork on the drums as the guitars and bass wail out from beneath. A progressive endeavour with plenty of tempo changes, Callus eventually drop into full-on doom metal territory with a sludgy undercurrent that cohesively retains the band's musical identity. 'Fatberg' closes with further clever development of the original riffs, ending on an upbeat, vicious instrumental section. With a bucketload of riffs and a balance of aggression and slow dread, most listeners would highlight this as the strongest song on display here. The short and sweet 'Sludge Guzzler' then rounds off the album with its off-time riffage and savage vocals. The way that Callus recontextualise one of the guitar riffs into a different time feel for the last passage makes for a very potent conclusion to Flesh Air.

A Breath of Flesh Air is, well, really impressive. The lads have clearly got a good grasp of how to write well-considered progressive metal. They seem to know instinctively whether to explore a riff with fast-shifting evolution, that finishes quickly, or whether a musical passage is better suited to longer, repeating phrases. They tend to go for the more direct approach, and it is surprising to note that the album lasts only for a little over half an hour. Each member stands out as a gifted individual player - particularly the drummer, with his rhythmic explorations - although the band as a collective have clear chemistry and appear comfortable to jam and expand ideas out to their fullest potential. A well-structured release, no two consecutive tracks are overtly similar to each other, apart from sounding like a band who understand and recognise their own sound and style.

This melting pot of sludge, stoner, doom, psych, thrash and progressive metal should not go under the radar of any self-respecting champion of British underground heavy music.

8.5/10

Favourite tracks: Cinderstella, Fatberg

A Breath of Flesh Air was released on 29th October 2021 via Trepanation Recordings

Callus links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

MN