Switchblade are a little-known sludge metal/drone band from Sweden, specialising in claustrophobic and unsettling music reminiscient of the likes of Khanate and Burning Witch. All five of the band's full length releases are untitled, and there are no lyrics given either, with the songs being for the most part instrumental and incredibly barren-sounding.

This, their 2006 release, consists of two painfully drawn-out tracks weighing in at 26 and 16 and a half minutes respectively, and seperated by an ethereal seven-minute ambient interlude. The songs plod along incredibly slowly, with sharp peaks and crashes of guitars provinding a torturously slow momentum alongside the ambient drums, creating a sound that is both oppressive and utterly dejected, like a dying animal dragging itself slowly along the forest floor, an image that is bolstered by the bare, monochrome artwork depicting a desolate forest scene. The songs themselves are untitled but for their runtimes, only adding the the album's detatched and unsettling feel.

The vocals only creep in after many minutes of the crawling guitars, and consist of simple, distant, rasped screams (Courtesy of 'E' the singer from Swedish black metal band Watain), before ultimately culminating in some softer, warmer yet still dejected clean singing as the final song reaches its plateau during in its closing minutes.

All in all, Switchblade's 06 release is a powerful and atmospheric excercise in sludge/drone and well worth checking out for fans of the genre.

Tracklisting-

1. '19:30' 26:36
2. '16:45' 16:44

Total playing time 43:20