Review by Shezma for Callisto - Noir (2006)

This is it. This album has been on repeat since I first heard it about a week ago and I just keep going back to it. It sounds nothing like others of it's genre, the "Atmospheric Sludge" genre. This album is absolutely beautiful and could possibly be up there for one of my all time favorite albums, still early but I haven't listened to anything on literal repeat in a while. I listen to other albums and I go back to this one. Every time I get this vibe that I'm in someone's basement studio after a long day and it's now 2 am in the morning and we're all just lounging around relaxing with some easy jams. The guitarist is playing his favorite lick for a bit, and the drummer just casually hits his favorite melody, and every once in a while they get in a groove and go hard for a moment and rock out then slowly ease back out and just relax again. It's such a meditative listen for me, listened on walks and while I can't quite go to sleep with it on it definitely relieves stress for some reason. I was almost out of this challenge for the Infinite but this kept me back in.

This album doesn't have that "sludge" element that I don't like where it really is just wading in dirty grimy melodies that I don't enjoy, while it can be darker it's much brighter and airier then the other albums I've been listening to. This has a meditative open airy jam session feel unlike anything else I've heard in a while if ever. The first song, (on Spotify is named "Sink Your Teeth In" by Disco Ensemble and i'm not sure why) but I found other recordings and track listed as Wormwood is an interesting start that I do like with the Dark Jazz element referenced elsewhere more here than throughout the album I feel is a great introduction while not entirely adheres to the expectations I had on the rest of the album. I really wanted to point out the first song for the odd discrepancy that Spotify has and the extra Jazz work but the rest of the album all have their own formula of slow jams that ramp up into a more explosive near headbanging experience and then slow down that just works so smoothly I can't get enough.  If you like the more atmospheric of the sludge but not so much sludge, this is the album for you. I want to and will recommend this to more even though that aren't into metal. Even the more metal screamed vocals, what few there are, really do just add to the enjoyable explosion of sounds for me. This is an underrated gem that I think more people need to be aware of.