ALBUM REVIEW: Caught Up In The Gears of Application – Superjoint

The weird and often times incestuous Nola metal scene has produced some of the best bands in the world. DOWN, EYEHATEGOD and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY immediately spring to mind as being the best ambassadors of the stoner friendly sound that came out of the swamp. SUPERJOINT were always the scrappy younger brother to a lot of these bands and sounded like it. With a potent mixture of groove, aggression and thick toned guitars, SUPERJOINT were never the most prolific band to come about, but their mongrel sound mix was delivered with enough gumption to give people a reason to listen. Returning rather out of the blue with Caught Up In The Gears of Application, SUPERJOINT appear to have fared much better with the extensive time off.

Today and Tomorrow opens the record with the instantly recognisable tones of Phil Anselmo before kicking into the full-bodied assault. The album sounds great; losing some of the rough edges that gave their first two records such a dynamic feel. There is a high punk energy in the songs, and when the song like the title track decided to slow down and ride the groove, it’s successfully in pull off the transitions with ease, as the heavy riffs just pour out the speakers drenched in swagger. Circling The Drain is a slower and more pummelling offer, and displays their multifaceted sound with a glorious lack of grace.

Caught Up In The Gears of Application is a much more cohesive record than their previous two releases. Whilst those two releases were angry and vital, the songs were never able to gain traction and often lacked half the hooks featuring here. Asshole has a belligerently catchy chorus and a thunderous riff to boot and Clickbait immediately ramps the energy back up. Whilst certainly not re-inventing the wheel in anyway, SUPERJOINT were always able to get by on the sheer honesty and passion that went into its creation, something Anselmo has always been excellent at doing. Caught Up In The Gears of Application succeeds in this area really well as everything song is performed with maximum impact.

It is its base DNA that means SUPERJOINT struggle to really stand amongst its peers. By no means are the belligerent sounds ground-breaking, and the core sounds that go into the miss-match are all done better by the bands whom will be listed as inspirations. What SUPERJOINT do really well though, is exemplifying the fuck-it attitude that makes heavy music so much fun. Caught Up In The Gears of Application is a better album for the time the band has taken off from writing and is a genuinely enjoyable listen for both new and old fans.

Rating: 7/10

Caught Up In The Gears of Application is set for release on November 12th via Housecore.

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