Bloody Panda - Bloody Panda

A sludge band that doesn't intend to spread hate with its aggression or crush the listener with it's riffs but instead intends to create an atmosphere that reeks of insanity, desolation and melancholy may not interest the hardcore sludge listener.

Bloody Panda don't seem to be a band that chooses to walk on different paths of their musical career but gather whatever they can along their straight path, for the music on this EP, their first release and the latest LP, Summon doesn't seem to have changed much excepting a few tweaks here and there.

Slow music with the use of female vocals that are rather operatic and darkwave influenced seem to be the order for the day with a tinge of spoken vocals here and tad of screamed vocals there,

This type of music, for me at least deserves to be listened only once or maybe more depending on your mood. Nothing much to be said about the song writing except the fact that the music goes through on year, leaves the other leaving no impression on what lies between them.


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Bloody Panda - Summon

Nothing much has changed for the band since the first release. The vocals shine amongst the backdrop of music which leaves near no impact on the listener. The band , has gotten a bit more experimental with use of droney key boards and the inclusion of post rock moments.

Often quite slow, as we’d probably expect, the American band portrays the emotive side of the songs through a combined effort between the vocals and guitars, surging forward with some mighty riffs along the way, though nothing truly memorable, The drums aren’t that affective. They seem to only be present to layer and thicken the bass sound. Varying speeds distract the listeners attention from the positives and Bloody Panda do not seem to be able to interject small doses of experimentation like bands such as Disembowelment without too much fuss. From slow to double bass fast beats, it's hard to keep up with what Bloody Panda are attempting to achieve with this odd style of music. It's melancholic atmosphere is present throughout and is one of the better aspects of this release.


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Bloody Panda - Pheromone

On hearing this one would feel that this is more doom than sludge, but give it some concentration and you'll find the sludge variations buried deep into the fuzzed out distortion. In terms of being a hybrid band, Bloody Panda are interesting, certainly, though not the best. Alongside bands like Salome, Bloody Panda have opted to include the female vocals to make matters slightly more interesting against a backdrop of simplistic instrumentation, though the atmospheres are complex in mood structures.

The vocals are pretty much the highlight of this band, Yoshiko Ohara being the temptress. Her vocals soar above the rather dull portrayal of desolation and despair and are the spark in this rather level headed release.

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