Plöw hail from Aarhus, Denmark and play a mixture of sludge and doom, with elements of stoner metal as well. Their sound, while largely unrefined, has a sort of endearing quality in its energy and dissonant melodies, much in the way a band like Sleep or Rwake does.

High Tide embodies what the band is all about. The riffs are big and fuzzy, yet there is also a melody created by plenty of wahhed-out guitar and an undercurrent of bass. I'm honestly not big on the clean-ish vocals in the beginning simply because the sound just isn't there for me, it doesn't seem like singer Rune Bæk has full control of his voice when he tries to sing at a higher octave. I think the deeper growls fit much better with the sound they're going for. Bad Day For A Picnic didn't do much for me either, setting the tone more with the vocals instead of the instruments. Forrow Of Doom goes in a bit of a more traditional direction with riffs that are more repititive and a little heavier. There is a nice, dissonant solo that I think fits the doomy atmosphere quite well. The rough growls also give this song a sort of swampy, sludgy feeling that you I can really sink my teeth into. Spring Tide is the most ambitious and I think the most well thought-out track on this album. It begins with a repitive, doomy atmosphere created by fuzzy guitars and big drums. The tortured growls overlay this after a little while, creating a feeling of depression and loneliness, somewhat reminding me of Gallery or Rwake. The vocals get a bit cleaner as the song goes on, and this helps to create some contrast with the sheer heaviness of the rest of the sound.

I think these guys have a lot of potential. They are good at writing songs that combine both melody and sludgy heaviness, and in my opinion the best doom and sludge acts are the ones who know how to take advantage of this contrast. Of course they do run the risk of sounding like just another sludge clone that has no real originality, and I think the real challenge going forward will be for them to find an original angle or niche they can claim that will get people interested. I look forward to hearing what else they can come up with.

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