Lord Dying - "Summon the Faithless" (Album Review)

By: Matt Fitton

Album Type : Full Length

Date Released : 9/7/2013

Label : Relapse Records

"Summon the Faithless" CD//DD//LP album track listing:

1. In a Frightful State of Gnawed Dismemberment
2. Summoning The Faithless
3. Greed Is Your Horse
4. Descend Into External
5. Dreams of Mercy
6. Perverse Osmosis
7. Water Under a Burning Bridge
8. What Is Not…Is

The Review

Portland and Relapse combined forces and gave us one amazing band already, the mighty Red Fang. So now they're teaming up again to deliver another uppercut of awesomeness in the form of the equally mighty Lord Dying. Their new album and Relapse debut is called 'Summon the Faithless', and it's a heady brew of Sludge, Doom and just some good old fashioned heavy metal. How could this be anything less than killer?

Opener 'Summoning the Faithless' is bursting at the seams with hearty riffs. Real long haired, moustache sporting traditional shit. Soaked in beer from head to toe and offering a good time. Really great solid drums roll and bang, and the vocals are coarse and deep, the way any music played this way should be accompanied. Also, it should be played really fucking LOUD.

'Greed Is Your Horse' ups the tempo and the pace a bit for a more active head banging experience. A bit darker in tone, maybe influenced by that lack of sun I keep hearing about in the American North-West (I want to go to there). Frenetic guitar playing keeps an element of groove, but only just. The riffs on this bad boy are soooooo tasty; you'll need to wipe away the saliva from your ears. It's a record full of attitude and the pure need to rock out, balls to the wall style.

'Dreams of Mercy' is like a herd of buffalo covered in denim and leather trampling your skull. It's unconditionally heavy in a classic sense. I DARE you not to play air guitar at various points throughout this album. The only way to successfully avoid it would be to have a friend or loved one cut your arms off in advance preparation. Even then, you should get them to bury them at an undisclosed location so as to avoid 'zombie-air-guitar-arm ritual' temptation.

Side note: it's quite obvious that we love the whole package here at the 'Lord, so special mention should go to the outstanding artwork that is displayed on the cover of this album. Full of purple, and crazy demonic hallucination shit. I bet this is the sex on some wax. I know what Fitton is probably spending his hard earned cheddar on soon...

'Summon The Faithless' is a banger, stuffed to the gills with the kind of noise that kids dream about playing when they are rebellious teens. It's great stuff throughout, well played on all levels. I'm pretty sure that Lord Dying have a bright future ahead of them, or a dark one, whichever they see fit to pursue. Whatever you the reader choose to do, go grab a copy of this and rage, ASAP.

 You can buy this release here in a variety of formats. 

facebook