I first caught wind of Oakland's The Mass just before City of Dis dropped in 2003. Immediately I was intrigued by the band's perplexing mix of hardcore, math rock, and jazz sax. The album had its moments, but other than just being an interesting listen it really didn't do much for me. They followed that up with 2005's Perfect Picture of Wisdom and Boldness, which marked a huge step in the right direction for the band with increased cohesion. Where City of Dis felt like they were really reaching for ideas, Perfect Picture seemed like the ideas were coming to them more naturally. Now with this super limited (only 200 copies!) EP the band looks to have reeled in their sound even further, sounding like a band that is totally in control of their music.

For the uninitiated, The Mass sound something like the resulting mess of throwing Botch, Don Caballero, John Coltrane, and anything from Amphetamine Reptile into a giant blender and hitting puree. Within a few minutes of any given song you might be engulfed in chaotic hardcore fury then quickly pummeled by a crushing slab of sludge only to be completely blindsided by a doomy groove accompanied by a psychedelic sax solo. And you’ll fucking like it. Holocene #6 is more of the same from The Mass, but this time around every tempo shift, every style deviation feels purposeful.

Closer, “I Lirska Bistrica” is an 11+ minute behemoth that by itself justifies the purchase of this EP. It is, by far the DOOOOOM-iest track the band has recorded to date with subtle shifts in the riffing to remind you The Mass loves their math rock, and one of the more effective sax parts herein. Lucky for you there are three shorter but equally pummeling tracks before it.