Review by Sonny for Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean - Obsession Destruction (2023)

Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean are an anonymous, four-piece sludge metal crew from Massachusetts. Their name is apt as a metaphor for the crushing weight of their material, bearing the listener down as surely as those many, many metric tonnes of pressure exerted at the ocean's floor. That monicker is, of course, taken from a Thou song and that is hardly surprising as they sound remarkably like their obvious influence, yet they are proficient enough, both songwriting and performance-wise to stand on their own two feet and stand clear of the shadow of the Baton Rouge sludge masters.

The band have a devastatingly thick, distorted guitar tone that is very much based on Thou's signature sound, but as I absolutely love Thou's guitar tone, then that is just fine by me. The vocals are painful, ragged howls with their origins in both hardcore and black metal, that shred the ears with their shrieking roar and tear at the soul with their heartfelt desperation. It has to be admitted that this is quite simple metal, there are no fancy tricks, technical gymnastics or attempts to surprise the listener, but that is all to the good as far as I am concerned, because this is metal for those who want to engage with the music on an emotional and visceral level rather than an intellectual one. This is as visceral a sound as any high-intensity death metal or febrile black metal, it's just that this is bludgeoningly heavy rather than rapier sharp and will result in crushed limbs rather than savage flesh wounds and ultimately it is music so heavy it feels like it has some physical effect on reality itself.

Though I say that this is fairly simple in structure, that doesn't mean that it is monolithically dull or unimpressive. There is enough variation in tempo and tone to keep the mind engaged, often turning to a post-metal style of atmospheric tension building and release that gives the listener a well-deserved payoff by track's end. Ultimately, it must be admitted, if you have no love for Thou and their extended sludge metal outings, then Obsession Destruction will probably leave you cold, but for those of us who view this style of throbbing, crushing sludge as manna from heaven and who enjoy being swamped and overwhelmed by the listening experience, then this is 66 minutes of pure gold.