Grails frequently made a cameo on these lists as iddle-Eastern post-rock', a distinction that never made a lot of sense at the time, and is even less useful now. There's a reason for this: Though they lack vocals, they're very defiantly a rock group, cribbing from '70s psych and progressive rock to construct deep, druggy grooves that lurch from note to note. Besides full-lengths, the group has released six editions of their Black Tar Prophecies series, which comprises EPs, splits, and everything else in between, and Grails uses the format to work in strange, new ways that don't necessarily fit the form of a typical album. They are in high form on Black Tar Prophecies Vol's 4, 5 & 6, which collects an EP, a split with Pharaoh Overlord, and three new tracks exclusive to the release. Several immediate forms jump out to the listener. There are sound collages stitched together from slowed-down gospel records, radio recordings, and bible verses, mood-setters that nonetheless possess their own sturm und drang. Songs like "A Mansion Has Many Rooms" sound cribbed from peak-period King Crimson, full of phased guitars and synthesizer bleeps. And then there are the swerving rockers, of which "Self-Hypnosis" is the best example, where harmonizing leads churn over an unstoppable bass line.