Release Date June 26th, 2026
Format Digital/CD/Vinyl
Genre Hellacious Soul Metal
Origin USA
Broadslab emerged from the outskirts of Benson, North Carolina, and later planted its flag in the Raleigh heavy scene. The name points back to local moonshine country, a history of hidden production, night runs, and clashes with the law. That regional character sits deep in the band’s music. Southern rock swing, rhythm and blues heat, psychedelic haze, stoner doom, and down tuned metal meet in a hard, road worn mix. Broadslab issued “Ritual Movement” in 2014, and then returned to full length territory with “The Fifth Essence.”
The long gap has not erased the core approach. Low guitar tones, blues based motion, and a strong rhythmic pull remain central, now widened by cosmic imagery and extended song forms. “Hellacious soul metal” may read like a homemade tag, though it describes the blend more accurately than a standard genre label. The sound stays tied to place, smoke, asphalt, and inherited outlaw stories, with enough psychedelic color to move beyond a basic Southern metal template. The result has roots, character, and a stubborn streak drawn from the region, far from a marketing desk.
Mike Dean tracked and mixed the album at The Wig Shop, then produced it with Broadslab. Brad Boatright mastered it at Audioseige, with Jason Stanley handling studio drums. Ryan T. Hancock created the cover artwork, and Amanda Johnson handled the layout and photography. Electric Desert Records issued the album digitally, on CD, and on vinyl. The production is raw without becoming shapeless. Guitars sit low and wide, bass adds a dark undercurrent, drums strike with a dry thud, and the vocals retain a weathered Southern drawl. Psychedelic tones spread across the longer cuts. Compact songs bring the riffs forward with fewer detours.
The advance singles “Keep On Rollin’” and “Leslie” present the album’s two main routes, extended groove and compact songcraft but “Shameful Reality” is heavy as fuck. The main weakness is self editing. Several grooves circle past the point where their tension peaks, and the vocal patterns sometimes settle into a narrow lane. The album can sound more imposing than varied when tempos and riff shapes remain close for too long. Those stretches reduce the impact beside the more focused material.
The counterbalance comes from Broadslab’s heavy blues pulse and psychedelic scale, creating an atmosphere of midnight highways and starless backroads without slipping into costume. Dean’s mix leaves rough edges intact, and Boatright’s master adds volume without flattening the dynamics. “The Fifth Essence” is a strong return built on physical riffs, soulful inflection, and earthy character. A stricter edit would improve the longer material. The final result is an above average heavy album with depth, personality, and enough variation to justify its broader reach.
|7.5
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