Wow, just when I thought I had all boundaries covered, heard every conceivable formation of noise to sit within most genres and boundaries of the rock and metal spectrum, a new vehicle comes along. Until the moment I pressed play on ‘Golden Dirges, Molten Larynges’, I thought my fairly decent eclectic back catalogue of both aural experiences and exposure had me built up to be worldly wise in the metal underworld but boy was I wrong, very very wrong. If you want complex and captivating noise, decadent and layered atmosphere, an all-out tsunami of instrumentation and aural rioting then this latest release from Lung Knots is your calling.

‘Void Hymnal’ carves you open to a boisterous and enigmatic soundscape and doesn’t let up. I find it difficult to label this album with a specific genre label, but I will go as far to say it is as advanced and eclectic as anything I have ever been exposed to. If you think Watain crossed with Napalm Death with a heavy helping of Angel Corpse thrown in then you may have started to get an idea of the platform Lung Knots are delivering off. ‘Void Hymnals’ morphs int the second track, ‘Devour Their Bodies With Saturated Brine’, and the track is as dirty and raw as its name suggests. It has very little difference from the opening track but the tweaks and changes that have been injected into it make it more vitriolic and explosive than its predecessor.

I won’t go into dissecting each number on this eight-track package, as there are few changes between each one to warrant an outburst specific to each individual song. The differences between the tracks are minimalistic and the album seems content with each offering bearing a close resemblance to one another, although there are slight tweaks and modifications which seem to give the tracks their own individual identities.

The vocals throughout the album are gruelling and vicious, delivered with intensity and precision. Each word and gesture are spat out with power and dedication to the cause with the musical backdrop keeping the immoral and blackened backbone and template to the soul of the tracks well within the realms of an intense, violent and brutal scene.

If you are ready for something which will test your boundaries and generate a need to concentrate and give a record your full undivided attention in order to extract the best experience possible from it then grab a copy of this, if you want to just sit back and let a collection of tracks just wash over you, then no, just no

(7/10 Phil Pountney)

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https://lungknots.bandcamp.com/album/golden-dirges-molten-larynges