Thursday 9 July 2015

Deuil - 'Shock/Deny' (Album Review)



It is angular and cold sounding, but not as hate filled as something like Dragged Into Sunlight (more horrible than WITTR, though)

Album Type: Full-Length
Date Released: 29/05/2015
Label: Consouling Sounds

Shock/Deny CD//DD//LP track listing:

1). Shock (15:22)
2). Deny (14:42)

Review:

Two tracks equal one album in the world of Belgian black/post/ambient etc. maniacs Deuil. Unsurprisingly, each track lasts around 15 mins. It is a fairly obvious statement to make that this is not exactly a cheery listen. It is angular and cold sounding, but not as hate filled as something like Dragged Into Sunlight (more horrible than WITTR, though). Opener “Shock” does anything but- it is exactly what you expect it to sound like from the previous descriptive sentence. That is not in any way meant as a put down, though- this is great stuff if you like this type of sound. The riffs sweep impressively, the drums blast, change and roll fluidly (one/two blasting, that is, not the death metal everything-all-at-once variant). There are moments of light and shade in the riffs, while the vocals screech and rasp unpleasantly. There is a fantastically dramatic section two thirds of the way through as the track thunders towards its conclusion.

“Deny” follows and starts in menacing fashion before the riffing takes hold and an all embracing gloom seeps out of the speakers. Things are slower for this one and I preferred the latter half of the record for that reason. The female spoken word /sample section towards the back end is cool, too. Things pick up down the stretch and then it all implodes.

This second full length from from Deuil is a fine piece of music (well, two pieces) and worth some time to get into. If you have any interest in this type of melding of sub genres, then by all means check it out. 

Words by: Richard Maw

‘Shock/Deny’ is available here

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