Implore - The Burden Of Existence (Church Road Records) [Matt Cook]
The burden of existence has been heavy on us all lately, to say the least. At times things feel bleak, apocalyptic, rage-inducing. And this usually before we can even make it out of bed. It often leads you to want to scream, smash everything, yearn for a chance at a new world. That exact tenacity and benevolence has been harnessed and comes together thanks to Implore and their album referenced earlier, The Burden Of Existence.
For just over a half hour, the German foursome loosely categorized as both a blackened death metal, grindcore and crust band wields their weapons of annihilation. What is akin to being stuck on a roller coaster while the speed only increases exponentially. Its infectious vocals allow you to live vicariously through Gabriel "Gabbo" Dubko who infuses the record with raucous rebel-rousing. The consistent two-headed monster delivery of biting screams ups the ante entirely with the balanced harshness brought forth via bassist and fellow vocalist Carol Lieb. The only respite from the visceral assault comes 30 minutes in (Love Will Gradually Perish).
Otherwise, the nine other tracks are a splendid “fuck you” to the world we’ve been unceremoniously mired in for years now. Masochistic Tendencies in particular mimics someone recognising that death is on one’s doorstep. The feedback is utterly lobotomising. And this isn’t simply rugged music that elicits moshing: Accept The Loss pummels with the ferocity of a 135-mm cannon on board a battleship. Sun Deprived follows it up with grindcore being bludgeoned into smithereens.
If the vocals represent artillery, Markus Matzinger’s drumming is planet shifting. He turns the rage up to 11 (Archetype) in a display of hate-fueled vigilance. Ultimate Freedom threatens to derail a freight train and The Burden Of Existence concludes with a bone-meets-bone collision of violence and gore. As rotund as life’s stresses get, Implore’s imprint is more massive and titanic than any hare-brained invasion or Swiss-cheese economic stability. 8/10
Brutus - Unison Life (Sargent House) [GC]
There was no press kit or info sheet when the new Brutus album landed in my inbox so I am gong into this totally blind and that is probably for the best as it means I can just listen and not get bogged down with what they want to do or used to be like.
Haunting first track Miles Away is more of and into but it has an ethereal beauty to it and mixes in some tension in places and the switch between these styles is a nice way to kick us off before Brave properly introduces us some dense post-punk that has some nice atmosphere colliding with a claustrophobic wall of sound and some nicely delivered vocals it then gets all dreamy with Victoria which has a very floaty feel but still manages to maintain that punk edge that is needed so it doesn’t float away and get lost in the atmospherics and this carries through into What Have We Done which is a slow build of quiet guitars carried on an impassioned vocal line and it slowly but surely kick in with some emotive guitars and has jarring drums but the real star of the show here is most definitely the vocals of Stefanie Mannaerts as they are full of pain, passion and angst and its delivered to perfection on this track, carrying on we get Dust which is a bit more aggressive and jarring and throws some hardcore into the mix of sounds that have been offered and the contrast in styles here is a great piece of timing by Brutus as so far its all been slow and measured and halfway through the album, this really kick things into life in spectacular style.
Liar begins with more of the punk side of things and manages to be grandiose in parts and the sparse and bare boned in other places it’s a great contrast and make for an interesting listen, following on from that we have Chainlife begins with a wall of sound full of anger and sorrow before exploding with some jarring and scathing hardcore and a big chugging riff that fits in nicely before it all slows down and lulls you in before finishing you off with a punishingly devastating finishing section. Entering the closing section of the album and Storm is probably the most straightforward song so far and without any warning throws in a slight pop edge to the structure and overall sound and the mid-section mixed into the closing section here is another thing of absolute beauty!
Dreamlife is another straightforward but devastatingly emotional dose of dense, dreamy and passionate post-punk that segues nicely into the gigantic closing track Desert Rain which starts with some echoey guitars and soft sequences that then explodes into some breakneck drumming and veers in and out of a chaotic mix between epic soundscapes, quiet emotional, introspective passages the some intense and frenzied hardcore its all here and it’s all mixed together really well and they have definitely saved the best till last here as this is an absolute journey to go on and worth every minute you give to it! This has been a real rollercoaster of an album, there is epic beauty, devastating sadness, furious rage and an almost loving kindness in equal measure here which all feels like it is done with nothing but 100% commitment. What’s clear hear is that Brutus have created a beautiful album that is full of surprises with twists and turns that will keep you listening and always wanting to come back for more. 8/10
Fifth Ring - Masochist (Self Released) [GC]
Another day, another deathcore record for me to review, this time I have the debut album from an international bunch of lads know as Fifth Ring and it is also their debut album, Masochist! Let’s get into it then! Straight form the off you know what you’re getting with this, BRUTALITY and lots of it Ten Horns kicks everything off in a blur of double bass and blast-beats courtesy of Q. Keith Brown Jr and some nice technical guitar mixed with big chugging riffs from Christopher Williamson all held together by the deep the guttural vocals of Zachary Kepley, The Snake is a more groove filled beast that has a little more structure and subtlety than before but is still has all the bludgeoning riffs and savage drums to form the body of a big heavy monster of a song and even throws in some melo-death style guitar work in places but it’s the ending of this song where the pay off is really shown!
Fifth Ring - Masochist (Self Released) [GC]
Another day, another deathcore record for me to review, this time I have the debut album from an international bunch of lads know as Fifth Ring and it is also their debut album, Masochist! Let’s get into it then! Straight form the off you know what you’re getting with this, BRUTALITY and lots of it Ten Horns kicks everything off in a blur of double bass and blast-beats courtesy of Q. Keith Brown Jr and some nice technical guitar mixed with big chugging riffs from Christopher Williamson all held together by the deep the guttural vocals of Zachary Kepley, The Snake is a more groove filled beast that has a little more structure and subtlety than before but is still has all the bludgeoning riffs and savage drums to form the body of a big heavy monster of a song and even throws in some melo-death style guitar work in places but it’s the ending of this song where the pay off is really shown!
Crimson Mask begins with possibly one of the best intro samples I have ever heard and is one for WWE fans for sure, the song itself is another groove-laden beast and doesn’t let up on the savagery that has been on offer so far and offers up some absolutely insane drumming in places with yet another lovely end breakdown! Head On A Pike bounds out of the speakers at a breakneck pace with more almost melo-death style riffing before dropping directly into a big stomping cloud of serrated riffs and elephant heavy drums and even has clean vocals thrown into to mix which although not exactly need, does show a nice variation, and breaks up the relentlessness slightly but obviously not for too long.
Dust To Dust then slows everything right down and is a bit of a shock to the system as its all tippy-tappy drums, acoustic and picked guitars before its all come to life and has the feel of an almost black metal song with the staccato and atmospheric guitars crashing with the doomy drums before it all drops directly back into the previous quiet guitars and drums before it then breaks out into more familiar deathcore territory and in all honesty it’s all a bit of a confusing clash of dynamics and doesn’t really do much for me and typically it’s the longest track so far! Can’t have it all, I guess!
Dust To Dust then slows everything right down and is a bit of a shock to the system as its all tippy-tappy drums, acoustic and picked guitars before its all come to life and has the feel of an almost black metal song with the staccato and atmospheric guitars crashing with the doomy drums before it all drops directly back into the previous quiet guitars and drums before it then breaks out into more familiar deathcore territory and in all honesty it’s all a bit of a confusing clash of dynamics and doesn’t really do much for me and typically it’s the longest track so far! Can’t have it all, I guess!
Maggot King then give another slight switch in formula and has a hardcore vibe to the beginning vocals that piqued the interest before just becoming more of the same deathcore brutality that has been on show so far and they again throw in some unnecessary clean vocals that do nothing to elevate the song and are just a bit annoying really BUT these guys really know how end songs!
The end of this is just a thing of savage perfection!! Waste does nothing to slow down the tempo and attack and is another decent slice of deathcore, but those clean vocals really can fuck right off! STOP IT!! They offer nothing and sound stupid and the end verses lyrics are also pretty cringe-worthy. The Pit is probably my least favourite track so far as it just doesn’t really do very much, its kind of just there and lumbers along not really offering too much in the whole scheme of things and so its down to Lurking In The Open Wound to close things an it does so in a decent fashion it’s full of driving and relentless death metal riffs and punishing drumming and makes you forget about the last couple of track that were just a bit meh.
I have got say I’m not really sure about this album its all decent enough and has all of the brutality and savageness that a person needs in a modern day deathcore record but, in some places it does get a bit samey and some parts just plain miss the mark all together and when they do try and mix it up it tends to make the whole flow change and not in a positive way!? Overall this is a decent record to listen to but I wouldn’t give it repeated listens like you would expect to do and that's the problem! 6/10
Vacuous - Dreams Of Dysphoria (Me Saco Un Ojo Records/Dark Descent Records/FHED) [Matt Cook]
The very first vocal line presented on Dreams Of Dysphoria is indicative of a band that spawned in the bowels of a pandemic-ridden wasteland. U.K.-based filth mongers Vacuous released a demo back in 2020 and after allowing the cutting room floor to grow mouldy and sticky, their full-length debut is upon us. Listening to it summons the same feelings one gets when that too-close stranger on the red-eye flight back home starts to doze off on your shoulder and can’t quite keep their drool to themselves.
I have got say I’m not really sure about this album its all decent enough and has all of the brutality and savageness that a person needs in a modern day deathcore record but, in some places it does get a bit samey and some parts just plain miss the mark all together and when they do try and mix it up it tends to make the whole flow change and not in a positive way!? Overall this is a decent record to listen to but I wouldn’t give it repeated listens like you would expect to do and that's the problem! 6/10
Vacuous - Dreams Of Dysphoria (Me Saco Un Ojo Records/Dark Descent Records/FHED) [Matt Cook]
The very first vocal line presented on Dreams Of Dysphoria is indicative of a band that spawned in the bowels of a pandemic-ridden wasteland. U.K.-based filth mongers Vacuous released a demo back in 2020 and after allowing the cutting room floor to grow mouldy and sticky, their full-length debut is upon us. Listening to it summons the same feelings one gets when that too-close stranger on the red-eye flight back home starts to doze off on your shoulder and can’t quite keep their drool to themselves.
Whatever you might find in the darkest recesses of the divest bar around, nothing quite tops Dreams Of Dysphoria. Jo Chen provokes and admonishes everyone within earshot by way of spacious grunts and heinous howls. The foul-smelling recording studio must also have been quite the scene because the production value is hazy at best. A putrid smog hovers ominously above the entire 33-minute record.
All of this, however, is much to the band’s benefit. Thunderous, stampeding, Katana-edged fury. Death metal not only categorises Vacuous; it is an appropriate label to the entire finished product. It’s likely best consumed whilst showering since you can kill two birds with one stone. It’s not always lightning fast. The instrumentation ebbs and flows with more precision than destruction, a veritable dose of carbon monoxide that, unbeknownst to its victims, quickly and quietly kills. And if you listen closely, Chen appears to be gargling their saliva before letting out a juicy spit.
Believe it or not, it’s far from the most disgusting aspects of Dreams Of Dysphoria.The five-piece’s name is also a bit of a misnomer: blatantly removed from unintelligent mouth-breathers, Vacuous possess a penchant for well-crafted compositions that give off an odour as sensual as an abandoned men’s bathroom balls-deep into an apocalypse. Then again, the band did surface in the midst of COVID. How else could one express their inner thoughts during that period? 8/10
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