(Andy Synn has three more slabs of home-grown heaviness to recommend today)
If you’ve been keeping track recently you may have noticed a slight dip in my output frequency, mostly because I’m having to also focus on recording the last few vocals and bass-lines for our upcoming release (which we’re aiming to have out towards the end of November).
Unfortunately (for you, not so much for me) I’m likely going to be even more busy for the next few weeks, not only finishing off the recording process but also getting ready for my upcoming wedding so… well, I’ll do what I can to help keep the lights on around here, but you might be seeing even less from me for a little while.
That being said, I’m not going to let another opportunity to highlight some home-grown heroes pass me by, so prepare yourselves for three more delicious metallic morsels which represent the “Best of British”.
ADUR – WE FAIL TO LOVE OURSELVES
I’m a little surprised – ok, they’re the newest band here, and don’t have the same amount of underground cache as the other two groups featured today, but still – that We Fail to Love Ourselves hasn’t received more attention since its release at the end of last month (though the fact that it’s inexplicably listed as “releases 29 September” on Bandcamp, despite already being available, probably doesn’t help).
But, hey, what is my job if not to try and bring attention to some of the more underrated/underappreciated/under-exposed bands out there?
And so, in that spirit, I’m here to officially encourage you all to check out the evocative, emotionally-wrenching Post-/Sludge/Hardcore hybrid sound of Adur (whose members are drawn from a variety of UK underground alumni) on this, their debut album.
Fans of Fall of Efrafa in particular will want to give the seething, simmering, surging sounds of “The Silhouette” and “The Longing” (whose rippling, rumbling bass-lines and impressively intricate drum work provide an excellent showcase for the group’s riveting rhythm section) a listen ASAP (while also keeping their ears open for a dash of Deftones and/or Deafheaven influence in the group’s use of ethereal ambience and melancholy vocal melodies), while the harsher, heavier strains of “Self Control” and “We Fail to Love Ourselves” (especially that ending) feel like they were purpose-written to appeal to fans of bands like Phantom Winter and Amenra.
Sure, the group aren’t quite on that level just yet (some of the more ultra-aggressive moments kind of just burn up/out so fast that they don’t leave much of an impression) but there’s definitely something – a certain je ne s’ais quoi, as they say – to tracks like “Nothing Lives In This Soil” (which starts off heavy, gets moodier in the middle, then ends even heavier) and “The End of Us” (which channels an extra level of raw, wounded emotion in order to really bring things home) which hints at a lot of as-yet-untapped potential, and room for future growth and evolution, inherent in the group’s sound.
CULT BURIAL – COLLAPSE OF PATTERN, REVERENCE OF DUST
Dear Cult Burial,
I’m here today to, well… not to apologise, exactly, but to explain why I never ended up writing anything about your second album a couple of years back.
Long story short, while I’ve been a fan of yours ever since the self-titled, and also wrote positively about 2021’s Oblivion EP, something about Reverie of the Malignant just felt a little off to me, a little scattered and unfocussed, and the more I listened to it the more I felt like it didn’t live up to the obvious promise and potential demonstrated by its predecessors.
But Collapse of Pattern… is a very different story indeed, as the added focus on the darker, heavier (and more dissonant) side of things – reminiscent, at its best, of the likes of Ulcerate, Nightmarer, and Wells Valley (whose most recent, and best, album was one of my personal favourites of 2023) – has really firmed up everything I originally loved about you, and then doubled-down on it in the best possible way.
The grim, gut-roiling churn of “Vincula”, for example, is absolutely one of the best (and heaviest) things you’ve ever done, while the combination of moody atmospherics and monstrous riffs on the likes of “Collapse” and “Aether” (the latter especially) is something I’d love to see/hear you expand on even further in the future (more dark dynamics can only be a good thing, I promise you).
Sure, there’s still a little bit of room for improvement – going into the second half of the album the sheer OTT intensity and excessive sonic density does start to blend together a little bit, and the relative lack of space in the songwriting results in some of the better/bigger riffs and hooks not getting enough room to breathe properly – but the closing pairing of “Vestige” and “Seethe” (whose use of chilling melody and claustrophobic atmospherics really makes full use of the song’s extended length) have me extremely hopeful that your next album will be an absolute world-beater, as long as you lean even further into the moodier and more malevolent side of things!
Sincerely, Andy Synn
TRUDGER – VOID QUEST
After 11 long years Trudger are back, and if you don’t know why that’s an awesome thing… well… honestly, that’s kind of our fault, since last time the band were active (way back in 2014 when they released their debut full-length album, Dormiveglia) we abjectly failed to cover them.
Thankfully, however, their killer comeback album, Void Quest, is not only a great opportunity to make up for this mistake but is also an even better jumping on point… because it’s even better than its predecessor.
A little bit older, and a little bit wiser they may be, but the Trudger of today is also arguably even more aggressive than they were last time around, trading in some of the sludgy slowness of their debut in favour of a more energetic, riff-driven attack which balances the raw, proggy power of early Mastodon with the heavier, more Death Metal inspired intensity of Turbid North and even a touch of brooding melody and atmosphere reminiscent of the likes of Isis and/or Dvne (which makes sense, considering who’s in the band).
If that sounds like a good blend of sounds and influences to you (and it should) then you should probably get to cranking “Merciless Sabre”, the album’s electrifying opening track – which immediately shows off the crackling technicality of the albums guitar work, as well as the record’s dervish-like, Dailor-esque drum work – right fucking now, because you really don’t have any time to waste (though, thankfully, the fact that the album clocks in at just under thirty-six minutes, all delivered at a rapid, neck-wrecking pace, interspersed with moments of gloomy, mood-drenched groove, makes it easy to spin on repeat).
It’s also worth noting that, despite the record’s relatively trim run-time, the group aren’t afraid to diversify their approach here and there, which is what allows the punchy, almost grindy, assault of “Occupied Frequency” to slot in neatly before the brooding, bruising, slow-mo slog of “Illusory Path” or the more expansive, technical proggery of “Battle Hardened” to shift seamlessly into the abrasive, visceral “Wind Cleaver”, while also maintaining an impressive consistent and coherent sonic identity from start to finish.