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Providence, Rhode Island's Howl fooled me a bit with the opening tracks of their second full-length album, Bloodlines. Between the deep, resonant guitar tone, the vicious riffs and harsh, shouted vocals, I thought I was in for some filthy Death/Thrash Metal. And, to be fair, there are some cool parts to songs like "Attrition" and "Midnight Eyes." When Howl kick up the tempo it's a veritable thrash-fest. But the deeper I got into the album, the more the term "drone" started to creep in to my mind. And when Howl slows it down, that's just what they do; drone. They are still heavy and the thick, fuzzy guitars are very reminiscent of Doom, but songs start to blend together and the vocals vary so little it is sometimes hard to tell where one song ends and the next begins.

I don't really mind Bloodlines, especially during the faster parts and it will surely piss off the neighbors when played at volume. But in a lot of places Howl sound like a heavier Rob Zombie and, well, I just don't really want to hear that, frankly. If Orange Goblin and Wolfchant are your thing, check out Bloodlines. If not, skip it.