Forerunners of the industrial doom/sludge sound, Pitch Shifter started off in the British underground metal/noise scene of the early 90s as an unabashed bit of Godflesh worship, cloning the pounding Swans-influenced industrial rhythms, feedback-streaked riffing and apocalyptic vibe of Streetcleaner and dragged that sound into darker, heavier realms. After the band signed on to Earache, their crushing industrial dirge reached an apex of skull-battering heaviness with the remix/studio track collection Submit and the follow-up album Desensitized, and in my book both of these discs are crucial albums within the spectrum of ultra-heavy, dystopian mechanical sludge. After this period, the band would move into a more commercial techno/drum n' bass sound that I wasn't too keen on, but the 1991-1993 era is total crush. With all of the industrial-tinged doom that I've been listening to lately (Human Quena Orchestra, Black Sun, Hordes Of Satan, Vennt, Nevath, Wicked King Wicker, etc.), it was just a matter of time before I pulled out my early Pitch Shifter albums and gave them a fresh listen, and I've been rediscovering how much of a devastating listen these Earache titles still are. Neither of these discs have been carried here at Crucial Blast before, but both of these are essential listening for fans of industrial-influenced sludge.

1993's Desensitized finally saw Pitchshifter move beyond mere Godflesh worship into a more lush, more rocking industrial metal sound of their own. The twelve songs on the album are still seriously crushing and metallic and bottom-heavy, no doubt about it, but the riffs are catchier than before, and are in fact quite fucking awesome (as on the industrial-rock battering ram "Ephemorol"), the songs a bit faster paced and groovier, with sheets of churning chorus-heavy guitar swirling over the relentless tribal drumming and pounding mechanical crush, and a much heavier presence of electronic effects and synth-like layers of sound shooting through these chugging machine-metal mantras. All of this gives the songs a gloomy, psychedelic feel, and there's a post-punk quality to much of this that also makes this stand out from their previous work, which reminds me of the early 90's Ministry stuff as much as it does of Godflesh. Really, this album is one of the few to successfully pull off an amalgam of that super-heavy Godflesh sound and the more kinetic Wax Trax/Ministry style of industrial metal, forging it into an intense slab of pummeling, rhythmic fury. The last blast of pure thunderous mecha-crush before the band would evolve into a blend of nu-metal and techno/drum n' bass, Desensitized is crucial listening for fans of early 90's industrial metal.