While Anodyne have yet to plant their roots with any label for any lengthy period of time (their discography reads like a veritable indie roadmap), their sound now looks to finally be evening out. With 2002's "The Outer Dark", the group took the deep plunge into Isis-styled heady sonic experimentation and this latest effort sees that trend continuing. A dense and impactful affair, "Lifetime Of Gray Skies" is probably about as close as music can get to conveying the feelings of being crushed and subsequently trapped in the wreckage of a demolished building.

To put it bluntly, this album thrives on weight. Almost everything here sounds prehistorically huge as the band quickly begin to pile their cumbersome burden upon the listeners shoulders. Initially it starts out with short bursts of explosive metal-laden noise that recalls the likes of Mastodon, or perhaps a sedated version of Converge. Bellowing vocals become tangled in spastic riffing as a savage rhythm section swats them away with a technical, though ultimately sludgy sounding performance. While this ferociousness firmly sets the album off on the right foot, it doesn't take long for the bands massive droning tendencies to kick in. Soon moments of ambient panic and lumbering aural explorations begin to shackle the listener and drag them down like an anvil in quicksand. But just as the bottom is about to be hit and the last breath of air is about to escape, the band once again unleash their energetic side and thrash their way back to the surface.

To be sure, "Lifetime Of Gray Skies" is an effort that is taxing on the psyche. Its primal nature and bleakly desolate outlook both quickly envelop the listener, while its sheer heaviness then keeps them pinned closely to the ground. The fact that the group is even able to create such a turgid, harrowing atmosphere through the use of lightning quick musicianship and unsettling part changes is wholly impressive. But for everything they get right, they also seems to tread a bit too close to that of a select few peers. In some aspects the ideas expressed here are unique, but in others they could also be viewed as the grotesquely digested leftovers from some of the earlier-mentioned bands. However, whatever the listeners perception may be, there is no denying that this album is an absolutely crushing affair. Through its granite-like persistence and its all-too palpable despondency, there is little left to do but be washed over in the maelstrom of gray which this outfit have tirelessly created.