REVIEW: Slabdragger/Wren - “Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” [Split]

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Split 12”

Date Released: 27/10/2017

Label: Holy Roar Records

Both bands deliver the best kind of cover version; one that takes the source material and imbues it with their own unique spirit to create something new and exciting.  An essential purchase for any fans of the UK heavy underground and maybe it’ll turn some old Zappa and Beefheart heads towards the sludgier side of life too

“Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Slabdragger – “Muffin Man”

2). Wren – “Electricity”

The Review:

Slabdragger and Wren are a formidable duo of UK riff merchants. Bringing together the two slowest and heaviest bands on Holy Roar to unleash a split 12” leads to exactly the mighty results you would expect. What is less expected is that these behemoths manage to create characteristically earth-shaking offerings in the form of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart covers.

Both bands deliver the best kind of cover version; one that takes the source material and imbues it with their own unique spirit to create something new and exciting. Slabdragger take Frank Zappa’sone riff wonder “Muffin Man” and throw in a filthy radioactive swamp, only to have it emerge as a mutant city-levelling Godzilla. The track is a perfect blend of modern dirty sludge and retro jam band freedom. This ten minute monster is bookended by classic monolithic Slabdragger riffage while the middle section sees them really channelling the spirit of Zappa with every band member getting a solo.

While Slabdragger offer up a cover that sticks structurally and sonically close to the original, Wren’s take on Captain Beefheart’s “Electricity”is a different beast. The original song is one of the notoriously difficult Beefheart’s catchiest numbers, three minutes of raw, warped funk. Wren take the source material and twist into a new dark form that stretches over eight dark and powerful minutes. If you listen closely you can hear the parts of “Electricity” that Wren have dragged out to create a sinister post-metal epic that would fit in seamlessly on their amazing “Auburn Rule” LP. The hypnotic elastic groove of the original is transformed into a huge lumbering riff that ushers in the tracks punishing climax.

This is a fine split from two awesome bands on crushing form. An essential purchase for any fans of the UK heavy underground and maybe it’ll turn some old Zappa and Beefheart heads towards the sludgier side of life too.

“Mothers Of The Beef And The Magic Of Invention” is available here

Band info: Slabdragger || Wren