Annexed are a band that obviously gestated during the 90s. Their grooves have a slow, plodding Tool-esque vibe with an At The Drive In inspired melodic quality. And come on, with an album name like When Philistines Joust, it makes up for the rubbish name of the band.
The title track has an almost Kyuss riff to it, with the drums switching from sneaky cymbal fills to crashing tom and snare hits, before dropping into a melodic and wandering bass-led interlude.
The bass on this album (which was ostensibly played by three different people) is what really shines out, in my opinion. Justin Chancellor’s clean, almost underwater bass tone is referenced heavily, and surprisingly it works, unlike most other bands who attempt to sound anything like Tool.
What makes the band gel is the obvious attention to detail in the production. The overdubbing is epic and you get the feeling that for everything you notice, there are about five other things you’ve missed.
While each song has something interesting and engaging about it, overall the album sounds too much the same for an instrumental band. They either need a singer or to depart into some Secret Chiefs 3 tomfoolery before it gets stale, but for now this album rocks.
Check out www.theannexed.com
Mikey Carr
