Metal Injection

Straight out of Brooklyn, crazy sludgecore rockers named GOES CUBE have been raking in accolades for In Tides and Drifts, now out on The End. Outside of a more persistent heaviness, it's not drastically different from Another Day Has Passed, their excellent 2009 breakthrough, and any hoo-ha about In Tides and Drifts being light years ahead of their previous music is coming from folks who don't want to admit lateness to the Goes Cube party. No matter, In Tides and Drifts is a raging nerd-metal blast of awesome, serving the band's knack for melodies with a new level of speed and distortion.

From the start, Goes Cube sound like they're intensifying themselves away from the TORCHE and BIG BUSINESS comparisons. The one-two barrage of "Safety Coffins" and "Thunderheads" hit with unbridled fury, and the full metal racket of daze-inducing tracks like "Gray and Winter," "Small Pond, Small Fish" and the galloping "Year of the Human" should erase any concerns about the band's metal cred. Guitarist DAVID OBUCHOWSKI is now a full-fledged screamer, favoring a sound that can compete with his avalanche of stoner punk riffs and drummer KENNY APPELL, who has evolved from a competent team player into a considerable beast. Hopefully Goes Cube haven't outgrown their engaging harmonizing abilities, which are lost on Tides and Drifts, but somewhere along the way they found a prime contender for Best of 2011.

Rating: 4 Exponents out of 5