Back in the year 1983 Slayer released their debut titled Show No Mercy and that record had a song called Evil Has No Boundaries. Only an iconic band can come up with such a great song title, a title that epitomize the brand Slayer perfectly. There are still people out there that associate the words "heavy metal" with the word "evil" and I don't think such notions are going to change, it's been almost 50 years since the first Black Sabbath record after all. Lets just yield to them, just for today, just for this review and shout "Heavy Metal Has No Boundaries" and that's an answer in 5 words why I love this genre of music more than anything. The ever-shifting ever-evolving boundaries of heavy metal just got a little wider with this release by Infernal Coil.
Their sound is definitely not from a "world forgotten", dissonance is the new djent and we have a plethora of Ulcerate-esque death metal bands and Deathspell Omega-esque black metal bands to ensure that the nightmare never dies when we wake up from the trance. If you have ever watched any of their live shows, "a world forgotten" to them is the primitive ways of yore. The dissonance in their sound is not used as a cutting edge musical device instead their sound is dissonant as a consequence of them embracing "music" before music as we know it existed. In one word the sound is primitive.
This record conjures almost the same atmosphere as the last Desolate Shrine record Deliverance From The Godless Void. If that 2017 release had some doom influence then this one has grindcore in its arsenal, if that one had a bit of modern day Behemoth in its feel then this one mirrors Portal in its execution. In either case both does the same to the listener, which is an unhinged attack of fury.
The fury here is omnipresent, the first three songs offers no respite. It's only in the fourth song 49 Suns where the band offers some silence, even that "silence" puts you in disquietude if you listen closely. There is always some synths present in the mix which shows itself whenever the wall of sound show some cracks and ambient noises creep in and out at random. Dissonant guitar feedbacks pierce through the mix and so is some women's screams or maybe both are the same, both are unsettling. Continuum Cruciatus features church bells and some agonizing screams towards the end which bleeds to the next track Crusher of the Seed.
This record conjures almost the same atmosphere as the last Desolate Shrine record Deliverance From The Godless Void. If that 2017 release had some doom influence then this one has grindcore in its arsenal, if that one had a bit of modern day Behemoth in its feel then this one mirrors Portal in its execution. In either case both does the same to the listener, which is an unhinged attack of fury.
The fury here is omnipresent, the first three songs offers no respite. It's only in the fourth song 49 Suns where the band offers some silence, even that "silence" puts you in disquietude if you listen closely. There is always some synths present in the mix which shows itself whenever the wall of sound show some cracks and ambient noises creep in and out at random. Dissonant guitar feedbacks pierce through the mix and so is some women's screams or maybe both are the same, both are unsettling. Continuum Cruciatus features church bells and some agonizing screams towards the end which bleeds to the next track Crusher of the Seed.
Bodies Set to Ashen Death is the closest the band get to the familiar riff based approach to death metal. The song has an ominous crawling opening riff which also closes the song giving it a sense of structure or dare I say a trace of accessibility and then there is a breakdown in the middle, a well executed drop in tempo with spoken word samples and whispered vocals over a doomy 3 note clean guitar riff. In Silent Vengeance, the final song of the album takes its time to introduce itself, with the opening synths building up the tension. There is constant tempo changes, mood shifts even a distant female voices and from what I can infer detuned violins popping out. It all ends with sounds of wind blowing almost the same way Bathory used to end their albums in their viking metal era.
This album is grower, with each listen you discover more intricate details and that has a lot to do with the album's production. The production has a charming low-fi feel, never letting any instrument to stand out by surrounding them with a shroud of cobwebs. It invites the listener to invest more and every time they are rewarded. Make no mistake this is no early second wave black metal production, there is a well defined bottom end with the kick drum having a real punch especially in slower tempos.
I wish I could write something about the lyrics. I traveled to the nook and cranny of the world wide web and found nothing. If the song titles are anything to go by then it it is obvious that this is no fairy-tale and I suspect the lyrics to be as malignant as the music. In any case those vocals are hard to decipher even with a lyric sheet (like their band logo), that most probably was the idea, so no complaints from me.
The big question is "Why should you listen to it ?". Listening to music such as these is not going to win you any chicks if that's your sole ambition in life. In a world that make judgments based on first impressions and that craves for instant satisfaction a band like Infernal Coil stands no chance. People and art with depth and substance takes time to show its true colors. This record took time to reveal itself, I gave it the time it deserved, found its true colors and I paint those in 881 words for you. Now you know, let your choice be wise.
This is the most obscure band covered on this blog as of now. The blog is sailing on uncharted waters towards bleak horizons. As I've mentioned above Evil Has No Boundaries, me neither.
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When I started this song to listen I thought that may be my earphones are not working; all noise was coming, then I used all alternatives to hear it.. Then I got that this music is like that only...
ReplyDeleteAbout this depth may be blogger is talking I think.. Many people will judge things from first impression only... Once on one earphone's cover it was written that to enjoy you need to go in deep...May be the blogger likes depth....
I had the same feeling the first time I heard "In the Constellation of the Black Widow" by Anaal Nathrakh and now that album is one of my favorites in the genre.
DeleteAlbums like these asks too much from the listener which many as you pointed out overlook as they don't strike them on the first impression.
If you look past the repulsive first impression, you will find an album that gets better and better with every listen.
BTW my earphones are actually not working :(
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