…something in between, according to our own Andy Synn anyway!
It’s funny isn’t it, that nebulous, ill-defined dividing line that separates an EP from an album?
I’ve encountered releases longer than Reign in Blood that still feel like an EP by comparison, just as I’ve listened to records shorter than some EPs which still – in spite of this – come across like a complete and fully fleshed-out album.
Ultimately it often just comes down to a question of feel, which is why the album/EP experience is often so subjective.
Which means it’s up to you to decide whether the latest releases from Votive and Wielded Steel sit on one side of that divide or the other.
VOTIVE – AN INFINITE CAPACITY FOR JOY
If the words “Blackened Screamoviolence” send a shiver up your spine… then Votive‘s new record might not be for you.
Then again, maybe it’s a good shiver? After all, every one of these nine tracks is an abrasive burst of caustic sonic commotion and cathartic human emotion, delivered in the rawest, nastiest fashion, with none of the rough edges and harsh angles smoothed off for easy consumption, and if their collective impact doesn’t provoke some sort of visceral reaction then the band haven’t done their job right!
Imagine, if you will, the voracious venom of early Zao blended with the scorching intensity of Frail Body and the bare-bones brutality of Nails and you’ll be in the right sort of sonic ballpark to… hopefully… appreciate what An Infinite Capacity for Joy has to offer.
Whether that’s the violent, spasming riffage of opener “New Sincerity” or the ramshackle blastery and ruminating melody of “Unitary Form”, the simmering, sludgy beauty of “Eighth Motion of Fixed Stars” or the maddening, one-minute Math-Grind explosion of “Reliquary Binding”, the brooding belligerence of “Failure of Apotropaic Wards” or the gritty guitars and simmering ambience of “Only Speaks When Spoken To”, there’s an impressive amount of variety packed into just over 17 minutes… to the point where the whole package just feels like a complete and cohesive statement despite its blistering brevity.
WIELDED STEEL – SINS OF YOUR DOMAIN
Sitting somewhere between Tribal Gaze (though thankfully closer to their first album than their disappointing second one) and No Cure (members of whom make an appearance on the grooving, galloping, and grinding “In The Line of Fire”), this new EP/album (delete as appropriate) from Alabamaniacs Wielded Steel is seven seriously heavy (and devastatingly hooky) slabs of Death Metal-meets-Hardcore heft that gives no quarter and takes no prisoners (as the heaving hurl ‘n’ burl of “Your Words Mean Nothing” quickly demonstrates).
That’s not to say, however, that there aren’t moments of nuance – there’s definitely a dash of Dismember-influence to some of the band’s more melodic moments (especially during the likes of “Fabricated Integrity” and “Martyr”) but for the most part the focus here is on simply beating and bludgening the listener into submission (with the thrillingly thuggish chuggery of “Perpetual Hell” being arguably the record’s must bullishly brutish cut).
Hell, there’s even a touch of early Machine Head (to my ears, anyway) to be heard during the aforementioned “In The Line of Fire” and the punchy, down-picked pugilism of “Die By The Steel” (though I could do without the guest vocals on that one, truth be told), adding an extra helping of heavyweight groove to the band’s formula that should really give your necks (and various other body parts) a solid work out.
In the end then, the only riddle of steel that needs answering when it comes to Sins of Your Domain is not actually whether it should be seen as an EP or more of a short album (though, more often than not, I tend to lean towards the former)… it’s more about whether it even matters!