By: Daniel Jackson
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 7/9/2018
Label: Rotting Throne Records
With ‘And All
Will Be Desolation’, Allfather appear to be poised to be the spiritual
successor to Crowbar this generation needs and deserves. This is heavy music
stripped of all pretenses, given to us to remind us that while innovation is
important for forward progress, conviction and a deadly riff are all you really
need.
‘And All Will Be Desolation’ CD//DD track listing:
1. Black Triangle
2. Citadels
3. Lord Betrayer
4. By Sword, By Famine, By Plague
5. Jackal's Night
6. Inherit The Dust
7. Lampedusa
The Review:
I’ve spent entirely too much time trying to
figure out how exactly to categorize Allfather. There are elements of sludge, hardcore,
doom, and even more besides in play here. But at a certain point, I came to
realize that none of that really matters. What matters is that Allfather, and their new album ‘And All
Will Be Desolation’ are rotten with riffs, and catchy ones at that.
With the possible exception of the album’s
opening clean guitar passage, every moment of this album is spent wringing
every last ounce of gut-wrenching vitriol out each new riff. ‘And All Will Be
Desolation’ strength is in its simplicity. Nothing gets in the way of immediacy
and impact. Each of these songs is clearly communicated; its language is
universal. These are the kinds of stomping, thrashing, hammering songs that
cemented my love of heavy metal in the 90s. The music here is incredibly
earnest, shouting from the rooftops an unabashed love of anything and
everything heavy.
The emphasis on groove here can’t be overstated.
Everybody in Allfather
is working overtime to make sure you feel the weight of each and every crunch,
every downbeat; the conviction behind these songs is so devastatingly present
that it practically radiates from the speakers. Even the guitars feel like
they’re a part of the rhythm section at times, with so many of the album’s
highlights built around heavy palm muting and deep pockets of groove. Whether
it’s something thrashier, like “Citadels”
where the grove takes on a similar feel to that of some of High On Fire’s faster songs, or
the brilliantly melodic swing of “Inherit
The Dust”, rhythm is the crux of Allfather’s sound.
As strong as the album is collectively, “By Sword, By Famine, By Plague” is the
band’s best song to date. The opening riff wields both a massive hook and a
menacing atmosphere, eventually giving way to a devastatingly simple but
powerful palm muted section that’s bound to snap a neck or two live. The second
half of the song is loaded with sludgy swing, building to a massive climax
where a scintillating guitar solo takes center stage. The song is a fucking
journey, with its closing moments dedicated to a swampy southern crawl, and the
perfect end to one of the year’s better songs.
With ‘And All Will Be Desolation’, Allfather
appear to be poised to be the spiritual successor to Crowbar this generation needs
and deserves. This is heavy music stripped of all pretense, given to us to
remind us that while innovation is important for forward progress, conviction
and a deadly riff are all you really need.
“And All Will Be Desolation’ is available here
