There is a pernicious palpable hostility about this US act, a scathing predatory calculation embedded into every track which oozes a prowling spiteful and ravaging malfeasance that you can feel throughout its duration as they unleash a cataclysmic second album on this polluted corrupted planet. Even the opening intro piece has a dread like aura that links into the battering ‘Messenger Of Death’ that follows. At times this band defies categorisation with genre sonic shapeshifting occurring throughout the album and within the songs which take on a blackened hardcore substance similar to the likes of German act Ancst for comparison sakes.
The unbridled ferocity tempered by periodic sludge imperviousness rears up like a tsunami of impenetrable mud on songs like ‘Triumph Of The Slain’ sending you reeling backwards due to the jarring speed changes. Occasionally sleazy and sporadically punky the songs inflict their grievous harm with murderous glee at every opportunity as ‘Wandering Soul’ has cool hardcore credentials but even here the pacing scurries into slower realms to great effect especially with the thundering double bass demolition.
I especially enjoyed ‘The Oath’ because of the layering strategy where a semi-acoustic opening produces a far more despondent style that has post-black styling steeped in sadness as the drum fill emphasises what you interpret as the build-up to the detonation which arrives with absolute precision and enraging finesse. With super harsh vocals being backed by a delicate cleaner style situated in the back of the mix creating an eerie feel, the song is texturized beautifully but virulently and contrasts with the massively opaque title track with its abrasive guitar sound. The song is colossal and at sub three minutes it scars the listener with a corrosive acidic riff that you will listen to again and again and again like I did.
Switching mood to the sludgier style this band does so well is ‘Incantation, where the duration is increased again producing a super dense gravity defying pitch black onslaught that fans of the sludge genre will fully appreciate. Like all their songs their ability to seamlessly blend genres is bewildering as the song transcends into a rumbling deathly burst towards the finale. This album is all about contrasts as ‘Grief Portrait’ so ably personifies with its morose opening quickly relenting for the obliterating blast of blackened wrath coupled to the blended harsh and clean vocals that create a surreal atmosphere that you’ll either love or hate as another favourite song on the album appears via ‘Beholder’. The snare roll opening catches the ear with ease before it veers into the blasted speed. The frenzied approach is something this band also does with consummate skill but when the song plummets into a crawling crevasse the result is staggeringly effective. The escalating intensity that ensues allows the song to unveil a piercing penetrating riff break that will have you bouncing around; it is that good.
Closing this immense album is ‘Eternal Hunger’ where the band prefers to lurch back to their sludge like styling with doom hints as it slithers along with horrifying vocals terrorising the listener with the caustic flair. With slight increases in tempo the song’s gradual variations in intensity are typical of the bands structuring as the track has hints of deathliness before it plummets again down into a miasmic sludge infestation at its conclusion.
Fans of blackened hardcore should get their hands on this album and those into the harsher end of sludge should also give this embittered slab of sonic destructiveness a listen too, its potency and empowering carnage cannot be underestimated.
(9/10 Martin Harris)
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