I feel like this could be a boilerplate introduction for this site, but things have been dark and stormy for a lot of us for a long time. And it doesn’t appear to show signs of stopping. In what’s alleged to be the greatest country in the world, things are so unbalanced that people are at the end of their rope, and there is bloodshed the world over.

Digging into “Recover What You Can,” the third record from Pittsburgh brawlers Negative 13, and you can tell they’ve lived it too. The band’s brand of doom, hardcore, and metal is a force to behold live, and on this album, they translate that feeling as effectively as they ever have. Over six tracks and 33 minutes, the band—vocalist Scott Fisher, guitarist Edward Banchs, bassist Mary Bielich (Derketa, ex-Mythic), drummer Chip Reynolds—unloads both sonically and emotionally. The pain and suffering, the confusion and anger are all over this thing, and you can feel the gritty gears tearing into your psyche, identifying your struggle, and also hopefully showing you a way to climb out.

“The Desolate” is a strange, doomy, cloudy intro cut, setting the dark tones and sprawling into “Casket Trail” that immediately lands punches. The aura is mucky, Fisher’s howls encircling, the intensifying smoke making your vision strangely compromised. Riffs snarl as the pace begins to gallop harder, punishing as growls smack, and relentless chugging leaves deep muscle bruising. “The Vulture Circles” surges with guitars glistening and teasing, the words spat as the bass playing flexes its muscle, Fisher’s wail of, “Set me free!” rippling down your spine. “See my life melt away, but I’m not ready to leave,” Fisher declares, the playing piling on hardcore-style intensity, the final cry of “Pick yourself up!” resonating and disappearing into murk.

“Horizon Divides” has blurry playing that works into muscular jarring, the temps dropping as Fisher’s singing layers with emotion. “I have this constant feeling like I’ve been here before,” he laments, as the moodiness clashes with a ripping pace that knifes into the center, feeling beastly and slashing as is melts way. “Devil In Your Head” is charged up and jerky, talk singing adding to the abrasive nature, and then some speed that teams with a psychedelic wash. The playing begins to gut, growing more violent and disruptive, yells echoing as the ambiance feels like Neurosis’ early years, Fisher lashing, “You don’t really know me!” The closing title track is faster out of the gates, howls echoing, a gazey heat thickening and making breather tougher. A hypnotic force washes over the cut, the vocals stretching over that, the title howled deep from the gut. The pace continues to elevate, steam rising as if from a scalding hot bath, blazing out into steam.

It’s a rough time out there for a lot of people, and Negative 13 seem to capture that tug of war of emotions on “Recover What You Can.” Everything packed into these six songs come front loaded with emotion and grit, seeing your misery and struggle and responding with music that can accompany you into your mental battles. Or, if you’re just here to get crushed, you have more than enough to leave you bruised for weeks on end.

For more on the band, go here: https://negative13.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://negative13.bandcamp.com/album/recover-what-you-can