Album Type:
Album
Date Released:
14th
November 2014
Label:
Disiplin Media
Persistent
Murmur of Words of Wrath – Track Listing
1. L’Etranger.
2. Crosses And Marching Feet.
3. Golden Calf.
4. Vladislav.
5. Reaching The Shore.
6. Elena.
7. Deathbed Conversation.
2. Crosses And Marching Feet.
3. Golden Calf.
4. Vladislav.
5. Reaching The Shore.
6. Elena.
7. Deathbed Conversation.
Members
The Meurto
(Vocals)
Boris (Guitar)
Tom (Bass)
Joakim (Drums)
Boris (Guitar)
Tom (Bass)
Joakim (Drums)
Review:
I’ve
heard a lot of people discuss their interpretations of what the term
‘heavy’ means when attached to a song, band, or musical genre. It
is most commonly associated with audio alone, the volume and texture
of a band’s music, something that is designed to hammer the senses
and create a controlled space of discord akin to a studio apartment
rumbling with the engine of a fighter jet. In other words, the weight
of sound has always been considered the ‘heavy’ in heavy metal.
In other circles, you might hear the scarf-choked indie raja refer to
his or her favourite acoustic act as ‘heavy’, in which case they
are referring exclusively to the myriad of powerful emotions on the
display during a performance, and the execution of such a
performance. Not to say that metal is devoid of extremely passionate,
blood-letting thoughtfulness, quite the contrary, I just haven’t
heard a band that sounds as ‘heavy’, and as ‘heavy’, as
Hombre Malo, in a long time.
Hailing
from Oslo, Norway, this four-piece mob of aggressive sludgery have
been peddling audio nastiness since their formation in 2008 and have
been quite consistent in their output, despite Persistant Murmur of
Words of Wrath being their only full-length in six years. You can
forgive them for the tardiness, however, because this fucking bastard
of furor is nothing short of punishing and provoking. The album’s
artwork, which depicts a young man, naked all but for a noose around
his neck, playing a harp amidst a flock of ravenous vultures, acts as
something of a mission statement for the following 40+ minutes of
heavy.
‘L’Etranger’
opens up the record with some familiar stoner sludge riffery that
melts, crystalizes, and eventually shatters into a razor-sharp
assault with more than just a nod in the direction of their
motherland’s infamous black metal sound. ‘Crosses And Marching
Feet’ comes to life with a truly mean-spirited, bully, pounding
detonation that acts as the first of many obvious criticisms of
religion and the violent intolerance associated with it, a theme that
continues throughout the album, but perhaps never quite as striking
as on ‘Golden Calf’. The third track is a snarling, turbulent
assault from every direction, one that breaks down and gives reign to
a truly painful, arresting sound bite of a news report regarding the
violent murder of the young homosexual, Vladislav Tornovoi, in Russia
last year.
‘Vladislav’
comes off as something of a lamentation framed by a slow, pulverizing
beat until a foot finds the accelerator pedal that speeds us through
a barrage of rock n’ roll punishment. Kicking off with something
close to clean singing, ‘Reach The Shore’ is perhaps the most
melodious and progressive offering on the record, completed by
glimmering guitar work and that near-mesmerizing coalescence of
blustering bass and percussion. ‘Elena’ is an interesting one
from the beginning, boasting a truly far-out drum pattern that sets
the building blocks for discordant murmurings that soon erupt into a
deeply convulsive head banging frenzy. ‘Deathbed Conversation’ is
the longest and final track on this ditty and is haunted by ethereal
guitar chiming, ambient gentleness, spoken-word purring, and ending
with one final gasp of crushing, emotionally spent hostility.
With
this offering, Hombre Malo have built something that will not only
please the headbanger, but something that also radiates with truly
organic fury. Perhaps it is the sound bites, the overall theme,
perhaps it’s The Muerto’s gruelling vocal delivery, perhaps it is
the general air of torturous animosity, but there’s something about
Persistant Murmur of Words of Wrath that really rings an
uncomfortable bell in the mind of the listener. It’s a heavy
record, take from that what you will.
Words by Liam Doyle
Thanks
to Viral Propaganda us a promo to review. Persistent Murmur of Words
of Wrath will be available to buy on Vinyl/DD from Disiplin Media
from November 14th 2014.
For
more information
