Aside from the moment of braindead crustcore that opens the first few seconds of this album, the music Institute plays on 13 Planets can be be described as the soul cousin of Neurosis. Utilizing similar concepts in oppressive heaviness, intelligent and punishing percussion, samples voices and weird effects, Institute does indeed sound like it could have been made by patients in - pardon the awful play on words - an institute. This lengthy release is the kind of album that you put on and leave on, due to its obviously non hit oriented nature. Institute is wise enough to vary up the assault to allow occasional creepy ambient passages and textures come in to clean up after the heavy blows to the listener's ears. On occasion, the band nearly gets lost in samples and soundscape passages, as they do around "Decay Illusion" and "Bloody Eye I". But these segments work very well within the album as a whole. The juxtaposition of subtle segments next to the more forceful and corrosive songs is very powerful and effective. Fans of Neurosis and other sludgey, ultra-heavy bands best do themselves a favor and find this release.

Review by John Chedsey

Review date: 06/2000

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