Review by Aaron on March 10, 2005.

I’m going to stop reading the press releases that come with the review copies of albums. On top of the ones the blow smoke up your ass heralding the album you hold in your hands to be the next Ace of Spades when it isn’t fit to be a drink coaster, you get the other end of the spectrum where the press does absolutely no justice to what you’re about to hear. Ohio-based Mouth of the Architect’s first release Time and Withering is an excellent example of the latter. Touted as a having the heaviness of Sunn 0))) and Isis, this unnecessarily piggybacks the band when, while they share some peripheral similarities with the likes of the aforementioned bands, their sound stands on its own.

Time and Withering’s four tracks clock in at a little over 40 minutes and are built on psychedelic-tinged dirge grooves that are repetitive enough to create a sort of melodic trance while not becoming redundant and boring. There’s a trick to keeping the listener’s attention on a musical piece that doesn’t consist of real significant change in structure for extended periods of time and Mouth of the Architect pull it off. The first track, “A Vivid Chaos,” is a lengthy piece that gives credence to the Isis comparison; however, the rhythm of the song steers Mouth of the Architect into different waters, fusing the melody with a subtle ambient noises that weave in and out of all the songs on the album. “Heart Eaters” is a wall-of-noise cacophony that lumbers along and, while being the shortest song on the album at just under five minutes, is easily the heaviest. The end song, “The Worm,” is a slow-burning melodic rolling stone that slowly builds up speed during the course of the song without creating any real difference in tempo or detracting from the Pink Floyd-ish ambience that is the backbone of the song.

The only real complaint that I had with the album is the lack of quality in the vocals. Consisting primarily of yelling, the combination of the lack of discernable enthusiasm and the low mix didn’t really do anything to add to the overall end result. Fortunately Time and Withering has very little in the way of vocals, but hopefully it’s something that can be rectified in future recordings.

Time and Withering is a definite strong show right out of the gate for Mouth of the Architect. It’s not an album for those with short attention spans, but I suspect such types would’ve probably stopped reading this review long ago anyway. Good stuff.

Musicianship: 8
Atmosphere: 8
Production: 7
Originality: 8
Overall: 8

Rating: 7.8 out of 10