Hate Songs
The first thing that boggles the mind when experiencing Berlin's Treedeon for the first time is that they began life as an acoustic band. They may not have come into the world kicking and screaming, but they clearly didn't waste any time before ushering in some rather momentous changes - their raucously grunged-out, down-tuned sludge rock noise a welcome enough change for Exile On Mainstream, who snapped them up in time for their debut full-length, Lowest Level Reincarnation, to drop.
With a CV that boasts such Germanic heavyweights as Ulme and Jingo de Lunch, Treedeon's gloriously heavy scuzzed-out belligerence comes as no gigantic bombshell, yet opener Love Turns Liquid still delivers a swift elbow with its vociferous, low-end riffing; Arne Heesch's gruff bellowing becoming maddened, furious screams that remain a defining point of reference for the band’s sound throughout. Bassist Yvonne Ducksworth's vocal contributions are equally as significant; her irascible poison spat in the direction of riff-heavy Blankapitation, conjuring the rolling thunder that Fudge Tunnel defined so perfectly a quarter of a century ago.
There is a transformation of sorts within Lowest Level Incarnation that sees the music slowly lose its grip on the formulaic - embracing instead a much less restrained sludge metal attack. Not that the album ever feels pedestrian - Extinction and the voracious Satan's Need both terrorise with impassioned clamour, yet as the album progresses, the extremity of the vocals and the down-tuned scuzz are both harnessed to revert the sound to a much more primal existence that climaxes in the pounding turmoil of the final two songs. Arguably the high point of their shamelessly flagrant debut release, the unrestrained riff-heavy onslaught of Terracide - coupled with the hulking, doom-ridden sludge of the twelve minute title track - shows just what Treedeon are capable of, metamorphosing their sound around the listener to become something much nastier than their marginally more melodious beginnings initially suggest.
The more straight-up numbers remain key to Treedeon's identity however; a hot-tempered Yvonne injecting some gritty punk spirit with the boisterous cacophony of Wendigo - more than holding up to the songs that surround it and maintaining interest with some focussed songwriting. By the time it's all over, it honestly feels like Treedeon are only just getting started. A slightly more restrained opening only fuels what becomes a hulking beast of noise-drenched sludge rock with rumbling riffs and deranged vocals. This debut is a fantastic addition to Exile on Mainstream's already-impressive roster; the band certainly finding their feet well before the end, and the evil eye of Treedeon continues to stare into you long after the silence becomes absolute.