Some nasty fungus in the Borgo Pass laboratory has chemically exploded into an audio Blob ready to devour the nearest listener with demon speed. Their debut LP Nervosa boasts vicious, tight groove permeating the entire creation in different incarnations, a natural evolution from their critically acclaimed EP Slightly Damaged.

Scattered within the CD are rock radio hits waiting to happen such as “Acedown” because of its general ambience, “Dead Summer” because of its unbridled emotion and “Rid Myself of You,” which could be the next angst anthem on overkill radio play – anyone can relate to its emotional gist. This release bears no lack of listenable melody interlaced with what is sure to satisfy the appetites of any metalhead slavering for their fix of brutal sludge. One notable example of classic metal intensity is “14 Days That Killed Me Slow.” It’s just a fuckin’ awesome song and this album is full of them.

“American Horror Story” is a disturbing Vietnam soundscape of humanistic guitar effects, one lyric repeated continually – they’d never told you you’d never get back home – and background war noise with other words grunted under the Sabbathlike guitar barrage. Tom Crane and Paul Rosado provide the necessary guitar duties throughout the entire release with the skill any respected former Black Sabbath cover band demands. Considering Borgo Pass is a respected former Black Sabbath cover band on the Long Island, New York rock circuit, this makes a lot of sense.

Vocal shredder and lyricist James Tamarazzo spills his guts throughout this almost dangerous album – most of the lyrics are influenced by personal experiences. He’s been compared to Phil Anselmo from Pantera but he undoubtedly possesses his own style – he has a good skill set of growls, screeches and actual singing ability.

You can definitely hear where these boys are coming from. “Bad Mother Ocean” smacks of Led Zeppelin. The American home-grown classic rock influence cannot be denied. Some songs bear Pantera technical precision. Others are Black Sabbath sludge homage rendered with the Borgo twist. Check out the Wizard like elements in “Follow Me To Nowhere” as a good example of the way they incorporate elements of their musical background into their songs. You know it when you hear it, but what they’re doing is very much their own.