Rue – A Heart Held by Demons 12" LP (Shifty Records)
By Jay Snyder
October 13, 2008

I'm a longtime Rue nut; been following these maniacs since their ripping S/T debut on Shifty. It's still a favorite album of mine that I hold close to my black heart and listen to on a regular basis. If you are one of the uninitiated, Rue peddles a highly corrosive brand of burly sludge/doom that toys with raging, rocked-out punk and mystical southern metal ala Acid Bath. The Acid Bath comparison may not hold true in all aspects of their sound but it is apparent and due largely in part to chameleon-like vocalist Jeff Fahl's ability to switch from a blood-in-the-larynx screaming growl to a smoked-out croon at the drop of a hat.

I can say without a doubt that A Heart Held by Demons is by far the band's most accomplished work to date; even better than the S/T and on par with the caliber of material present on the split with Aldebaran. So, fans of Rue take special note. You are in for a treat across the board. Prepare yourselves, batten down the hatches and make sure you've got the proper eye protection to defend against a maelstrom of nuclear grooves and explosive aggression that Rue deliver all in a style of their own.

Lead in number, "The Hardway" should be familiar to anyone who's paid special attention to the band thus far. Initially available in demo form on their Myspace page; the unit has re-recorded this slavering beast for maximum cranial damage. The sonic equivalent to a landmine blowing off your head; "The Hardway" boasts a blue collar rage towards daily life and a grueling mid-tempo wretch which never kicks into Rue's speedier side. Riffs are encased in molasses and delivered with the kind of distortion fans of Fistula, Cavity and Iron Monkey eat for breakfast; if you enjoy dousing your cereal with a bucketful of tar that is. Groove is present but at a turgid, unforgiving pace that cuts straight through the jugular. Fahl spews out his filth-ridden diatribes with unrelenting anguish that continues to get more impressive with every release. He explodes with screams, throaty growls and even passionate crooning near the song's crippling climax for a fully realized performance; well rounded and above n' beyond the call of duty in every area. Special mention goes to drummer Greg Cook for knocking this song out of the park with every crushing beat.

Motorhead rams skulls with Iron Monkey in the sludge-punk destruction of "To Cancer"; a tune equal parts slow-motion syrup and shitkicker speed all rolled into one fat spliff that gets the heart racing like coke and uplifts the senses like a freshly packed bowl. The first half rips you apart with a locked in groove that burns with punchy crust/doom akin to the band's classic "Lengthy Delusion" but tugs the reigns to nail an absolutely killer black-hole groove in the second half. I call it a "black-hole groove" because it is one of those Sabbath by way of Grief rumblings that completely eviscerates all matter in the space and time continuum. The entire band is tightly bunkered down into the moment with Fahl generating his clean vocals flawlessly in a haze of mist and dope smoke. I felt like hitting my knees and worshipping my speakers the first time I heard it. Hell, I'm still in that state four listens down the road.

"Reek of Human" raises the bar for what Rue stands for. In my opinion this is their most powerful piece of work to date, kicking things off with a heathen sludge battery and then shifting gears to an epic southern crawl with monstrous riffs and soaring LSD saturated singing. The whole affair is in the vein of rerouting Floodgate's brain with early Soulpreacher's synapses. My assumption is further reinforced when Rue rips into a godly, fuzz-drenched southern shuffle that will put a smile on the face of fans of Raleigh's favorite bastard sons' first two outings (Soulpreacher). One more change-up leads us into an endless swamp of ultra leaden, hate-sludge that seals the deal and sets the stage for closer "Gates"; an appropriately succinct blast that throws the molten doom lever into full gear. Churning riffs, plodding rhythms and another helping of dynamic vocals put everything into focus one last time, showing that Rue are all about taking their sound to the next level.

With "Gates" our journey comes to a saddening close. A Heart Held by Demons is over and done with and we must begin our wait for new Rue material yet again. Although this LP is a hands-down smash that is worth listening to over and over again, proving itself more than able to tide one over until the band's next outing. The record's layout is phenomenal. It is currently one of my favorite pieces of vinyl to look at with artist Tom Denney going the extra mile on the grotesquely intricate cover art. Production is top-notch too. Everything is top-notch. Rue fans; you've been waiting for this one and you should go out on a limb to try and obtain a copy before it is out of print. Shame on me for taking so long to scribble about this one, but don't let the late review deter you. Doom and sludge heads need this record; another essential release for the rabid fans of the style and Rue in general. I'll be jamming this LP relentlessly for years to come. One word review: masterful.