Reviews: Florence Black, Enterprise Earth, Meth, Uncomfortable Knowledge (Reviews By Paul Hutchings, Matt Bladen, GC & Rich Piva)

Florence Black – Bed Of Nails (Self Released) [Paul Hutchings]

Skip through the pages of this mighty publication, and you’ll find many reviews of albums and live shows that suggest we might well have been there at the beginning. This is the case with Merthyr’s Florence Black, whose live reviews date back almost a decade. Strangely, we appear to have missed 2021’s debut Weight Of The World, but never fear, we’re right on it for the second release, Bed Of Nails.

If you’re in the South Wales area, it’s impossible not to have noticed that the band have slowly but surely built their profile and fan base, to the point where they are now almost guaranteed a high billing on any of the UK’s numerous classic rock festivals. Shows at Steelhouse and Stonedead were but two of a huge volume of gigs that the trio managed in 2023, as well as finding the time to craft what is likely to be one of the highest ranked hard rock albums of 2024.

There’s an arrogance about the band that’s necessary for that next step. About to embark on a headline tour that’ll see them play 1200-1500 capacity venues across the country, Florence Black have, in Bed Of Nails, brought their A game to the fore, and on this performance, there’s likely to be no stopping them. It’s an album full of cracking tracks that get you moving, delivered with aplomb and high-quality production. All three band members, Tristan Thomas, Perry Davies, and Jordan Evans are playing with confidence, honed form years on the road. Thomas’s vocals are maturing like a fine wine, whilst his fluid guitar playing is stylish, but with an edge that reminds you he’s still a Merthyr boy at heart. There’s still danger, unpredictable flicks, and licks in his playing.

Standout tracks? There are many amongst the 12 songs here and even though it’s hard to avoid filler, there’s nothing that really sits in that category. You want up tempo? You have fiery single and opener Start Again, the pacy Taxman, Solid 9 and the most metal of all tracks here, Rockin Ring. There’s a fire in the band that is born from hard graft, and it shows. You want more classic rock style singalong? Check out Beautiful Lover or the punchy On The Way Home. And then you have the classy style of the title track, which offers something a little different, as well as the gentler duo of The Forest and Back To The End that finish the album. Yep, there’s something here to float most boats.

Sometimes you don’t need anything massively innovative. Florence Black have played to their strengths on Bed Of Nails. They know how to write a good hook, a catchy riff, and have the quality to deliver it with an ease that is almost obscene. The last few years have seen them rightly soar high. In 2024, don’t be surprised if they clear orbit. 9/10

Enterprise Earth - Death: An Anthology (MNRK Heavy) [Matt Bladen]

As February creeps in the world starts to end with the release of the new album by US steamrollers Enterprise Earth. This is brutal deathcore that will happily put a breakdown on top of a breakdown, exploring the nature of death. Gabe Mangold (guitar/production), Brandon Zackey (drums), Travis Worland (vocals) and Dakota Johnson (bass) make up the these deathcore denizens and again bring the noise on this fifth studio record. As I said it explores the nature of death, thus the title, breaking down all the facets of it, whether that be actual loss of life or the death of a relationship, it all manifests here. 

From the dramatic stings of Spineless, through the melodeath chug of Caskets Of Ruin, the Meshuggah-like industrial smash of King Of Ruination, which features Ben Duerr from Shadow Of Intent and on the rest bite of Blood And Teeth where new vocalist Travis moves away from his bowel ripping gutturals into cleans. This record marks the first time the band have recorded in-person together in one room, bringing their live connection to an album for the first time. It means the album sounds very cohesive, the band on top form as their deathcore is augmented with black metal and symphonic elements, you just have to listen to Accelerated Demise to hear how tightly they lock in with each other. 

They have also brought in some guests to whet the appetite a bit more Darius Tehrani of Spite, Wes Hauch of Alluvial and Matthew K. Heafy all get a chance to display what they have on Death: An Anthology, these collaborations positively benefiting the album and the legitimacy of Enterprise Earth as one of the most prominent and impressive deathcore acts around. 8/10

Meth - Shame (Prosthetic Records) [GC]

Meth, according to their Bandcamp/Facebook is an experimental heavy band from Chicago and that about as much as you get in way of introduction, I have heard one of their previous albums and it was an uncomfortable and devastating but ultimately a rewarding listen, new album Shame is here now, and I can’t imagine it’s going to be a laugh a minute!

Opener Doubt is a slow and lurching monstrosity full of droning bass and pounding drums that leaves you feeling beaten and bloodied and never manages to lose your attention because you are almost mesmerized by the rhythm and then the anguish and torturous nature of the vocals takes the whole thing uncomfortable feeling up another level.

Compulsion crashes in on a wave of noisy feeding back guitars and then explodes into life with some more pummelling drum work and the dissonant nature is there again but the pace has not picked up one bit and that’s one of the beautiful things here because it shows you don’t need double bass and 1000bpm to be heavy, you can take a measured approach and achieve something full of disgusting beauty. 

Blush then throws you a curve ball and throws some almost raw black metal into the mix but it’s not long before the pace drops right back down, and you are once again in a pit of discomfort and you feel the song just swallowing you up and seeping into your conscience and never really letting go, there is a real talent to writing music this uncomfortable but to also make it enthralling at the same time and Meth have done it here brilliantly!! 

Give in has an atmospheric drum and feeding back guitar build up that goes on all the way through the song and even when the vocals join in, it’s all so claustrophobic and uneasy that you feel there is never really a point that you would say that a full-on song breaks out because it just feels like 8 minutes of tension in musical form until maybe the final minute when it all just quietly fades away and you wonder what has just happened. 

Cruelty is a much more straight forward composition of angular screamo noise that finally gives you the kick in the teeth to go along with the punch in the guts to complete the full body assault, it does break down into a slow sludgy and section at the midway point but that does not last for very long before the jagged guitars are back slicing and stabbing into the chaotic blasting drums to create the sort of 360 you weren’t expecting but absolutely love to hear! 

Following on from that we have Shame and it’s bass and drum heavy beginning leads into more squealing and noisy guitars that drift in and out of the sparse drum/bass sound that create a sort of what the fuck is coming next feeling because you never really settle into the feeling of the song as you’re not sure what to be thinking and it’s a challenging listening experience but one that is needed sometimes, taking you out of the comfort zone of what you know and expect and showing you what can be done if you just let chaos take control, ending with the colossal Blackmail that starts off full of the jagged guitars and sparse yet punishing drumming there is again a bit of black metal ambience to this but on the whole its just one last long exercise in making you feel uncomfortable and utterly drained by this whole beautifully uncompromisingly and chaotic experience.

My overriding feeling here is that I really liked what I heard but maybe feel a little bit more in the way of structure in places would benefit the songs even more, the unnerving and claustrophobic feel to it all is brilliantly done but I just needed a bit more substance in places but, please understand I am not to trying to take anything away from Meth they are masters at what they do and this album was an uncomfortable and horrible listen but in a good way and it really does comes highly recommended! 8/10

Uncomfortable Knowledge - Lifeline (Punch Records) [Rich Piva]

Uncomfortable Knowledge, a new band to me found via the promo folder, just sitting there teasing me with a “sludge prog” label attached. How am I supposed to ignore this and go on with the rest of my day? Well, I can’t and it’s a good thing I didn’t because the French band brings something very interesting with their second album, Lifeline. The band mentions Baroness, Intronaut, and Cult Of Luna as reference points and I can get behind those for sure as the sludge prog description is pretty spot on. 

The first track, The Earth, is a sprawling six minutes of a mid-tempo heavy prog with layered clean vocals and some very cool instrumentation that sets up the album nicely. She Was The Moon is up next, and almost has a hardcore feel to the vocals and the chug of the guitar, but you also have this prog feel in the background that makes this different from a lot of what you have been listening to. I love the slowed down part where the layered vocals take over and the multiple tempo changes on this track. 

Memories continues with some of those hardcore vocals on top of prog vibes and I am here for it. I really dig the next song, 149.6, as it even brings a bit of grunge to the equation to accompany the heavy prog bigness of Lifeline. Big is the key word, as this whole album sounds huge without feeling too slick. The title track brings more of the chug and would be the perfect microcosm of what this album is all about if you had to pick one song. The second half of Lifeline does not diverge too much from the first, with the highlights being Blindfolded Fool and the epic closer An Empty Heart Can’t Break. 

If I had one complaint, I would say Lifeline is a bit too long. A couple of songs less would have made this record more streamlined and easier to consume, but it is not obnoxious in length at 45 minutes, so this is more of a nitpick than anything else. Get comfortable with Uncomfortable Knowledge because I have a feeling you will be hearing a lot more from the French band as Lifeline could certainly act as their breakthrough to the next level in the heavy rock scene. 8/10