If you're looking for that rare album that offers the comfort of familiarity yet carries a unique sound all its own, "The Weight Of Poseidon" would make a worthy purchase. The sophomore (and first full-length) release from DEAD EARTH POLITICS, a homicidal bunch out of Austin, TX, brims with a plethora of notable influences and intertwines them in a manner that seems to all but defy explanation.

Over eight tracks, the band toss several different styles into a giant melting pot of Metal: Thrash, Groove, Progressive, Doom, Metalcore, and NWOBHM. Topped off with a raw PANTERA-esque Southern Metal aesthetic and a generous helping of black humor, "The Weight Of Poseidon" contains a little something for everyone. "Artistic License" opens the album with a roller coaster ride of a Thrash attack, while "Dos Cuerpos" boasts a riff refrain that you won't be able to stop humming for days afterward. Much of the album's pacing is anchored at mid-tempo, a consistency factor that is much welcome, considering the sheer schizophrenia of musical influences on display. For instance, "Hooked" breaks into an unexpected Salsa-inspired acoustic passage, the title track resembles the gritty, long-lost American cousin of OPETH, and "Traitor Is A Name" veers into loungy Jazz before roaring back for the big finish. These various curveballs are cunningly juxtaposed with some respectful nods to tradition, including several IRON MAIDEN-style gallops. All of these elements are cobbled together quite skillfully in a package that can be compared to a bastard son of LAMB OF GOD and CLUTCH on its veneer.

Dizzy yet? If this all sounds like too much to fit into one album without running it off the rails, you'll be surprised at how natural it all feels as "The Weight Of Poseidon" unfolds. The numerous influences meld and swirl together as smoothly as cream and coffee, while never quite forming a noticeable pattern. Thus, DEAD EARTH POLITICS always stay one nimble step ahead of the listener, with the next trick waiting right up their sleeve. One can think of few other bands, if any, that could so ably represent the eclectic music scene of Austin, a city known for its bustling diversity and cultural eccentricities. If DEAD EARTH POLITICS stick to their game plan, the best may still be yet to come. Indeed, as interesting and rewarding as "The Weight Of Poseidon" is, between the notes seems to reside an even better band straining to break free. But when that day comes, won't you want to be able to tell your friends that you were there at the beginning? Recommended.