Borgo Pass-Powered By Sludge Rating: 96/100
Oh man I love the sound on this, and the music….Meat Wallet is just incredible. It’s got that Black Sabbath sound from Children of the Grave with the spacey feel of Led Zepplin’s No Quarter and a lick or two of Slayer. Just killer. Afterbirth has been compared to Alice In Chains and I’d say after hearing it the comparisons are fair. Ed Sebastian has a great voice for this style of music. Drunkards Doom is another tune that’s slower and has that AIC influence. Off The Kings Head is another great song that combines the heaviness of Sabbath with the melody of AIC. Belly Smack is another really good song that reminds me a bit of Soundgarden with the staccato picking ala Jesus Christ Pose (though the song in no way resembles that). Second Story is a great song that starts out which a long acoustic line and gets heavy toward the end before getting back to the acoustics. Man, this is the type of song that many seasoned bands wish they could write. Saloon Burn is another uptempo rocker that’s really good. Overall an outstanding disc, I can’t believe something this good isn’t signed to somebody like the Music Cartel. So many great songs but my personal favorite is Meat Wallet. This has only been here a few days and is already a permanent fixture in my CD player. [PO Box 0388, Baldwin, MY 11510] email: borgo@borgopass.com website: http://www.borgopass.com

John Ridge

Underground Zine Scene
issue #12
Dec 2000