With a lineage that features a ragtag collection of members who cut their teeth in heavy hitters like Coalesce and Today Is The Day, plus oddballs and indie rockers like Reggie And The Full Effect and Theta; it should be no surprise that the amount of virulence The Esoteric are able to pack into a single song is entirely unmerciful.

To achieve such a corrosive sound the band conjure up the brutish force and caustic aggression of bands like Coalesce and Pg. 99, mix it up with a bit of space rock longing ala Cave In or even Theta, and ensure the whole thing is raw and abrasive enough to make toxic sewage look like a welcome alternative. A hefty dose of organic song structuring gives this end result all the more bite and sees the songs experimentally mutating into punishing breakdowns and ethereal melodies that are as engulfing as they are alarming,

While electronic aspects do take form throughout some of the material included, much of the album is a punishing, dirge like experience. Ruthlessly screamed vocals regularly exorcise themselves with manic fervor overtop of either transcendental droner rock or full frontal assaulting noise, though the decision as to which seems arbitrary. But then again, it is also this sense of freeform whimsy that allows this album to progress through various conflicting genres without sounding like the typical math rock wankery.

Ultimately it's not entirely groundbreaking - and there are innumerable self-indulgent tangents and a lot of messy experiments to be seen here. But with a rhythm section that could substitute for road construction and a penchant for a level of sonic abuse rarely achieved, "The Sureness Of Sleepwalking" is guaranteed brutality with every listen.