There's a disturbing quality to Transmission0's music and their full-length debut "0" captures it perfectly. Hailing from the Netherlands, this outfit set out to map not only the primal vastness of groups like Isis and Neurosis, but also the neurotic animosity of bands like Mastodon and earlier Minus. Go-Kart Records obviously noticed this as they took a step away from their usual niche in order to release this effort and any fan of unconventional music is richer for it.

It's probably no coincidence that this album starts out with a track entitled "Journey", because that's exactly what the listener is forced to embark upon while listening to it. From looming ambiance to foreboding instrumentation, the group carve out a rolling soundscape untouched by the hands of commercialism. Instead, there is beefy prog, droning ambiance and sludgy grooves, among many other things, that quickly begin to wall in their prey with a vindictive perverseness. Some electronics are enlisted to help establish this almost claustrophobic bleakness, yet the music sounds organically based, lacking the sterility such an inclusion would usually suggest. Of course, there are also carnal blasts of metallic aggression and brutal vocals that assail anything standing in their way, but for the most part Transmission0 spend their time serving as the constructs of some gargantuan sounding instrumentation.

There may be a fine line in the sand drawn between dreary atmosphere, roomy soundscapes and murderous aggression, but Transmission0 seem to have no real preference on where they stand. Their music does require attention and effort from the listener to fully be absorbed however, and perhaps that's what makes it so rewarding. Its pacing is rarely breakneck and can even slow to a crawl, yet its heaviness is still powerfully conveyed. No doubt some will be turned off and others will be find it to be too self-indulgent. But for those not adverse to some unrestrained creativity, not too mention some utterly punishing metal, "0" should easily have your number.