Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 04/11/2016
Label: Season of Mist
Hierophant can
make a strong claim for angriest LP of 2016 with “Mass Grave”. The Italian
wrecking crew have created a concentrated ball of molten rage and fury that
will level everything its path. This is
a gloriously ugly racket that makes a suitable soundtrack for the current state
of the world.
“Mass Grave” CD//DD//LP track
listing:
1. Hymn of
Perdition
2. Execution of Mankind
3. Forever Crucified
4. Mass Grave
5. Crematorium
6. In Decay
7. Sentenced to Death
8. Hierophant
9. Trauma
10. Eternal Void
2. Execution of Mankind
3. Forever Crucified
4. Mass Grave
5. Crematorium
6. In Decay
7. Sentenced to Death
8. Hierophant
9. Trauma
10. Eternal Void
The Review:
Hierophant can make a strong claim
for angriest LP of 2016 with “Mass Grave”.
The Italian wrecking crew have created a concentrated ball of molten rage and
fury that will level everything its path
“Hymn of Perdition” establishes an air
of grim anticipation with a cloud of ominous drone and dark samples. The mood
is soon shattered by the 39 second piledriver that is “Execution of Mankind”. A fearsome
hybrid of grindcore and death metal, drowning under a river of sludge, it’s a succinct
distillation of Hierophant’s
sound.
There is no
let-up in intensity during the course of “Mass
Grave” but the variations in attack make the onslaught all the more
compelling. The title track sees the band easing up slightly on the throttle to
allow elements of doomy grandeur to seep into the foreground. “Sentenced To Death” sees the tempo
almost grind to a halt, a sickening chug that sees Hierophant’s sludgy tendencies
given free reign.
Most
punishing of all is “Eternal Void”
which provides a skull-crushing finale to the album. Built around an insistent,
sledgehammer riff that opens and closes the track, it is a breathless assault
on the senses. There is a brief pause for breath midway through but this only
serves to magnify the building-levelling power of the subsequent
devastation.
“Mass Grave” is a short but far from
sweet statement from Hierophant. This is a gloriously ugly racket
that makes a suitable soundtrack for the current state of the world.
“Mass Grave” is available here
FFO: The Secret,
Celeste, All Pigs Must Die, Abaton
