Middian is a new band formed by former YOB leader Mike Scheidt. YOB were a notable sludge doom band that found an unlikely home on Metal Blade. Like YOB, Middian is a power trio that bashes out sludgy doom in dropped A tuning. The main difference is that Middian tends a little more towards the mid-paced and angry, sometimes even approaching a thrash vibe, while YOB was more stoned and psychedelic.

I never listened to YOB enough to appreciate them, finding what I heard to be too formless and meandering. After giving Middian a fair number of listens, I’ve found it to be much more interesting and effective. The more uptempo moments, like the first half of "Dreamless Eye" and all of "The Celebrant" rock with solid riffs and high energy, while the expected slow sludge succeeds in being menacingly crushing (the second half of "Dreamless Eye") or hypnotically atmospheric ("Age Eternal"). I like the guitar tone, which sounds live and dirty but not so much that it descends into murk. I’m not so sure about the vocals, which are kind of eccentric, either yelled or almost-sung in an odd high voice. The lyrics are the sort of cosmic, third-eye-opening sort of stuff you would expect.
Fans of sludge, especially YOB fans, and probably those of Neurosis, High On Fire, and similar bands will likely dig this.

Reviewed by: Dave Smith