Review: Heriot By Mark Young

Heriot - Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell (Century Media) [Mark Young]

I cannot say just how much I have been waiting for this. I’ve been lucky enough to catch them live, both as support and as headliners in their own right. Garnering a deserved reputation as one of our exemplar metal bands the UK has, they have been methodical in getting themselves to this point. Everything they have done has been focused to make sure that this debut release for Century Media lands with as much explosive force as is possible. 

Going out on a limb right now, they have released what is possibly the album of the year, such is the ferocity, the breadth and the leap in songcraft between this and their last collection, Profound Morality. Don’t forget, that was a monster in its own right but this is a whole new animal, a new way of doing things that keeps their core essence in place whilst they raise their game to a new level.

Foul Void is the start of a 34-minute kicking. Tight guitar, with those super heavy riffs banging in whilst shredmeister Deb’s snarled vocals nail it to the floor. What hits you is just how good it sounds; I mean it sounds incredible. Jake’s guttural roars cutting through and that breakdown around 3.30 is the sound of hell opening up. They have also expanded their sonic armoury with swirling background noise that adds to an overall feeling of unease. In just over 4 minutes they have dropped their first bomb that sets the tone for what is to come next. It captures their live feel, which was slightly muted on earlier releases and if you have seen them live you know exactly what I mean. 

It gets better, Harm Sequence is a blast of super aggression that should cause spontaneous circle pits to open. Julian’s drumming here is all controlled fury, with Erhan and Debbie combining to break your neck. Two songs in, two absolute crackers. Opaline is where they show off their growth and confidence in their ability. A subdued pace, ethereal vocals and a gradual rising of an incoming storm of a monster riff and a masterclass in tasteful lead playing. I’ve said before that if a song makes you want to play it then it must be doing something right and it’s the case here. If anything, the restrained pace makes it heavier, and suddenly you are looking at the best opening statement of the year.

Siege Lord is where they kick it up a gear. Its just furious, immediate and causes the hairs on the arms to rise. Anchored by vocals and bass early, it becomes huge once the guitars kick in especially with that ambient noise swells as the hard as rock riff come to the fore. It gives you everything you want in metal and makes it sound brand new. The chunk is obscene here, just as the grind on Sentenced To The Blade will strip the enamel from your teeth. It must be obvious by now that I’m having a blast with this. Sentenced keeps that efficient song build going, with no fat wasted at all. Its skull crushingly heavy, and what I love on this is when Jake and Debbie’s dual vocals come together, they act in unison, with one purpose which is to crush. 

Solvent Gaze dials back to allow a vocal driven start, bass fuelled with the cried of anguished and lost souls acting as their backing. When they do kick in its quick, but no less effective in moving the song along. Its this, along with Opaline that shows there is so much more to them than just battering you with riff after riff. Lashed, has an industrial feel to it, and reminds me of when the likes of Ministry/Nine Inch Nails would introduce elements of electronica to their sound. It leans into to the noise drops they do live but as a fully fleshed out story. It’s the sort of song that would fit in with any dystopian tale of future woe and acts as a reset before the low-down dirty riffing of At The Fortress Gate, which is unashamedly old school in execution. Its solid, fist to the face with those top class fills by Julian. Listen for the break at 1.50, slow stabs of guitar, pinched harmonics and those diamond hard combined vocals again hitting you like a brick in the face. Its heavy, but with such clarity and suddenly we are near the end.

Visage, with epic cleans and a soundscape that builds around them is just haunting. It once again points to how far they have come in being to write the music they want to write. The guitars here are just glorious, their arrangement matching these mournful lyrics, completely in synch and providing that metallic edge without overshadowing the dark beauty that came before. Mourn is our last song, a lumbering beast that gives Jake opportunity to spit venom. Rather than just throw a one-dimensional banger at us, they lull with that slow opening, and then BAM here we go, pace is picked up and now we have a closing statement that is as strong as the opener, and it’s over and out.

Having the opportunity to review this has meant repeated listens, and you know sometimes it gets samey as you try to get under the skin and pull the words together. Not on here. It’s a magnificent debut for them, with songs that you will be able to come back to again and again. It is light years beyond anything they have done, and by rights it should cement their position as the de facto face of extreme metal. All I can hope for is that they continue with this ascendancy and continue to grow as artists. Because they truly deserve it. 10/10