(written by Islander)
Brisbane-based Gutter Prince Cabal has established a reputation as a go-to platform for exposing the world to killer underground metal from Australia and New Zealand, and they’ll continue doing that in May when they present the debut of NZ’s Molosser. Here’s the vivid language they use in introducing the record:
Set for release on May 11, the band’s self-titled debut EP Molosser arrives as a full-frontal assault, an uncompromising barrage of aggression that wastes no time in establishing its intent. From the very first moments, the message is clear: rip and tear, kill and maim.
Built on muscular riffs, punishing rhythms, and an atmosphere of pure hostility, Molosser is a record that pulls no punches. Every track surges forward with unyielding force, carving a path through anything in its way. There is no restraint here, only momentum, impact, and the raw satisfaction of destruction.
We’ll have a tough time competing with those words in describing the EP track we’re premiering today, but of course that won’t stop us from trying!
The name of this song, one of four on the EP, is “Strychnine Hill“, and the band have provided this statement about it:
“Strychnine Hill is the opening track from the release. Thematically (much like the rest of the release) the lyrics explore aspects of conflict, war and all-too-human atrocities. Instrumentally it is the fastest-paced song on the EP, with the hammering, militaristic rhythms only ever letting up to set up another full-blown burst of violence.”
The opening of the song quickly alternates between episodes of cold-hearted thuggery and swarming savagery. As the vocalist barbarously bellows the words and the drums operate like a metronomic hammer the music brutally pounds and the riffing convulses in frenzied seizures. Those tremolo-picked swarms are viciously cutting, and the atonal blows sound like battering rams splintering castle gates.
The swarming riffage rises and falls, and then dramatically soars as blast-beats explode, creating moods of madness and desperation. The drum-patterns continue changing; the tempo slows even though the drums still sound martial; the guitars dismally drag and moan; the gutturals sound monstrous; and the hammer-blows resume their primitive inflictions of trauma as the lead-in to yet another insane and eviscerating fretwork convulsion.
At the end, the whirring guitars create a grim harmony of misery, with naught but gloom-choked reverberations casting the final pall of death.
The song warrants the label’s description quoted far above, as it interweaves contrasting and complementary instrumentation to create experiences of visceral brutishness, mauling madness, and crushing agony.
MOLOSSER Line-Up:
A.K. – Vocals
J.A. – Guitar / Leads
J.H. – Guitar
C.J. – Bass / Effects
A.M. – Drums
The Molosser EP was recorded by J.A., and it was mixed and mastered by the renowned Dan Lowndes at Resonance Sound Studio. It features savage cover art by Adam Kindred and a logo by Warhead Art. It’s available for pre-order via the links below. And here’s one more quote from Gutter Prince Cabal that helps locate the sound of Molosser:
Across its four tracks, the band channel a brutal and primitive energy that places them firmly alongside acts such as Diocletian, Heresiarch, and Caveman Cult, while carving out a voice that is distinctly their own, feral, direct, and devastating.
PRE-ORDER:
U.S. – https://hammerofexile.8merch.us/
Europe – https://apocalypticwitchcraft.co.uk/
Rest of the World – https://molosser04death.bandcamp.com/album/molosser
MOLOSSER:
https://orcd.co/molosserep
https://www.instagram.com/molosser04