Music

Dub Trio

Another Sound Is Dying(Ipecac)

By Dave Pehling 

If Dub Trio keeps putting out albums as bludgeoning as Another Sound Is Dying, the threesome may come under Better Business Bureau scrutiny for false advertising on the basis of its moniker. Opening salvo "Not for Nothing" unleashes a monolithic, neck-snapping riff that sets the tone for much of the swirling experimentation in Echoplex-laced heaviness that follows. Channeling the angular, slide-rule guitar tectonics of Shellac, Helmet, and Red

-era King Crimson on hard-hitting tracks like "Regression Line" and "Who Wants to Die?," Dub Trio lays down a fusillade of metallic fury that shames a majority of the Hot Topic–sponsored, pseudo-headbanging bands out there. Crushing as the new material is, drummer Joe Tomino, bassist Stu Brooks, and guitarist D.P. Holmes continue to expand their diverse sonic palette well beyond the effect-laden dubwise detours that have become their trademark. "Felicitation" veers Naked City–style from lurching brutality into slowly building, stately atmospherics that recall Sigur Rós before coming to a explosive close, while "Funishment" churns like a chopped-up Aphex Twin experiment in metal gone horribly right. Ipecac co-owner Mike Patton repays the outfit's extensive work as the core touring players for his Peeping Tom project with a guest vocal spot on the darkly foreboding thrasher "No Flag," but Dub Trio's consistently engaging instrumental prowess indicates this is one band that won't be advertising for a singer anytime soon.