“Sumac, the trio of Old Man Gloom/Mammifer/ex-Isis axeman Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook of Russian Circles, and Baptists drummer Nick Yacyshyn, exist on the thinning borders between strict metal composition and freer improvisation. The space the riffs create suggests that they lead the players, not the other way around—thundering dirges are treated with the same urgency (or lack thereof) as free”
