Given the kind of music that my own band plays, I’m surprised that I’ve never checked out Limb before. It seems like I’ve been missing out on something very special, certainly if this third L.P. is anything to go by.

Prog infused and swagger-fueled doomy fuzz sludge…and then some…but ‘Saboteurs of the Sun’ carries with it a sense of purpose and an ambitious breadth that elevates proceedings to something higher than merely a collection of heavy stoner riffs.

As vocalist Rob Hoey points out, “This is a record about the destruction that humanity continues to wreak on Earth. It looks to the stars for an alternative – but the thrills and wonders of space travel ultimately fail to provide a better future, and the dream comes crashing down.”

…Dark observations for sure…but this album also rocks like a fucker!

The first two tracks, ‘Wych Elm’ and ‘Death in Absentia’ are great. Hoey’s strong and gritty vocals are more than matched by chugging riffs and doomy grooves, but it’s when ‘Survival Knife’ kicks in that ‘Saboteurs of the Sun’ really starts to take flight. The bubbling bass and spacey textures revealing the bands progressive tendencies, while the jaunty New Wave of ‘Rising Tides’ and the sultry, slow-paced dusk of ‘Astronaut’ transports us somewhere else.

The off-kilter ‘Love Has No Name’ points at the sad, but true realization that “The world doesn’t care about the human race”, before unleashing an apocalyptic break down, and even the folk-punk workout of ‘Curse Tablet’ gets pretty epic in the mid-section.

Sabbath and Motörhead blues collide in ‘Man on the Outside’, while ‘Truth Be Damned’ offers some no-nonsense, full-on rock and roll, leaving the ominous Pink Floyd-ian coda of ‘100 Years’ to finish our journey in fine style. Convincingly portraying the uncertainty of our future that perfectly captures the themes within the album.

A win then, for this London band, and all of it is impeccably produced by Russ Russell (At the Gates, Napalm Death).

‘Saboteurs of the Sun’ is probably gonna remind you of a hundred different things while you listen to it, but it’s certainly GOOD things. Not because Limb are shamelessly throwing every type of influence into the record, it’s just that they know how to craft a sonically diverse, multi-layered, hard-hitting and intensely groovy listening experience.

Highly recommended.

(9/10 Stuart Carroll)

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