To follow their ep “Delusions (2019), Irish groove metalcore band The Risen Dread are now releasing this, their debut. I haven’t come across the band myself but it is clear that they have been putting themselves about with live shows, pandemics permitting.
The central theme here is mental illness and so the album starts in eerie fashion with “Psychoses”. The peace is disturbed quickly as The Risen Dread launch into groove-laden brutality. Riots are going on in the foreground. A mesmerising riff takes the background. There’s tons of energy, thumping drums, a guitar solo, raucous dual death vocals and all in all it makes you want to bounce up and down and punch holes in the wall. So good. On we gallop with “Silent Disease”. This piece of controlled adrenaline drives forward with a tight structure, almost too tight to express any sense of freedom. But again it’s a good song. “Bury Me” shows a more imaginative side with its deep groove and dark diversions. “Obsession” repeats the deep groove. It’s like a sinister march with chunky guitar, a prominent bass line and an echoing chorus. The Risen Dread’s music, although from the depths, is good audience participation material. To keep it interesting, they vary the tempo. Both “Obsession” and “Sound of the Unknown” are dark and driving but now “Sound of the Unknown” hits the “fast” button. All the while the musicianship is tight, and the song structures are fluid. “Fallen” then starts with a Finnish-style melo-thrash groove. The melody permeates the anger and metal aggression and brutality. This death metally romp continues in similar hard-hitting vein. The air raid siren sounds … the drum beats, signalling war. This is the ear-catching intro to “White Night”. The continuation isn’t so interesting but as the song develops, it becomes more anarchic. “Coward’s 9” is more typical with its forward-driving, dark and twirling riff, which serves as backbone to a riot of metalcore fury. The mood changes with the title song as the Brazilian composer Renato Zanuto joins the band for a final quirky blast.
Individually, these are all strong songs. By the time I’d had the experience of the first ten songs hammering through my head however, I’d become immune to the style. The song “The Night Hag” is almost like a bonus track. There are changes in tempo, breaks, plenty of power, aggression and the odd twist but overall I found “Night Hag” a bit cold in the recorded form. Yet the songs are tight, the metal groove is irrepressible and whilst the energy didn’t always flow for me because of the darkly persistent progression, I suspect this might be a great and infectious band in a live setting. For me “Night Hag” is a decent album which in future I’d listen to in small doses to get the best out of it.
(7/10 Andrew Doherty)
Leave a Reply