Album Review - Cruthu: The Angle of Eternity

At the risk of sounding a little weird, I forget the last time I ever heard of case where a band switched out a female vocalist for a male one instead of the other way around. Cruthu of Lansing, Michigan is one such example as this phenomenon: their full-length debut album features vocalist Ryan Evans, also of Seritas, in place of Terri Brown, who sang on their Creation demo in 2014. Either way, Cruthu displays some powerful heavy blues on The Angle of Eternity.

The best way to describe Cruthu is a meeting between Clutch, Goatsnake, and Black Label Society supervised by the omnipresent Sabbath. The guitar tone has a similar crisp as Greg Anderson’s downtuned pummeling with the inevitable Iommi leads while the beefy vocals sound like what would’ve happened if Zakk Wylde had stopped his decade old Ozzy imitation and studied under Neil Fallon instead. These influences are most prominent on the charging “Séance,” which sounds like it could’ve come from the last couple Clutch albums with a nice “Fairies Wear Boots” style guitar solo for good measure.

And while there are only six songs on this album, they do offer solid variety. Predictably, the more mid-tempo, blues oriented tunes are the best on here as “Lady in the Water” has the catchiest refrain while “From The Sea” revolves its shuffle around a Shadow Over Innsmouth inspired narrative. From there, the opening “Bog of Kildare” and the title track bookend the album with more upbeat tempo changes while “Separated from the Herd” makes for a decent acoustic instrumental.

Much like their influences, Cruthu is at a happy medium on the blues metal spectrum. They are heavy enough to hang out with the metal crowd and the swing feels authentic enough to sit in with the best of the blues. While The Angle of Eternity may not be the most unique album in the grand scheme of things, it achieves its sound with class and may be a bit more accessible compared to its peers. It’s an album that insiders are sure to enjoy and that outsiders may have to take notice of once the band reaches their destined peak.

Current Highlights:
“Lady In The Water”
“Séance”
“From The Sea”