ALBUM REVIEW: Beneath Oblivion, "The Wayward and the Lost"

By: Mark Ambrose

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 27/03/2018

Label: Weird Truth Productions

“The Wayward and the Lost” may be the first album to induce lethal sepsis, especially for those unprepared for the sheer annihilating depths of the quartet’s funereal, occasionally sublime, brand of sludgy doom.  For those who revel in plumbing the nightmarish depths, this nihilistic plunge is just the trip you need.

“The Wayward and the Lost” CD//DD track listing

1. The City, A Mausoleum (My Tomb)

2. Liar’s Cross

3. The Wayward and the Lost

4. Savior-Nemesis-Redeemer

5. Satyr

The Review:

               

There was a period in my late teens where I’d throw in my DVD of “Requiem for a Dream” every week.  Already cripplingly depressed, there was something cathartic to what, until that point, was maybe the most soul-crushing movie I could find (I hadn’t yet discovered Michael Haneke, Lars Von Trier, or any other miserable Euro-directors).  While I wish I was cool enough to have been spinning truly nihilistic funeral doom, sludge, and black metal, I was probably listening to early naughts emo or Nine Inch Nails or, if I was feeling political, some CRASS.  But maybe it’s for the best I didn’t have a band like Beneath Oblivion to pull up after a late night viewing of Jared Leto’s necrotic arm amputation – my vital organs may have shut down out of sheer despair.  Through a blend of post-rock cinematic composition and death doom tone, Beneath Oblivion’s “The Wayward and the Lost” is a painfully addictive listen for anyone craving a nihilistic trudge through societal misery.

               

From the outset, Beneath Oblivion wears their Godspeed You! Black Emperor inspiration on their sleeves.  The opening samples, haunting evocations of modern industrial alienation, nearly overwhelm the clean, twangy guitar chords and sparse percussion.  But when the distorted assault kicks in, beauty is quickly annihilated – lead vocalist Simpson’s wailing, spectral vocals.  While the sound may be post-apocalyptic, the lyrical content is all too painfully situated in the present crises of civilization: “I never believed, / In man or saviors. / This world in decline, / The needle, the wasted.”  Throughout the vacillations between reverb-laden clean guitar breaks and fuzzy, gut churning chords, the throbbing hum of Keith Messerle’s bass lines and trudging smash of Nate Bidwell’s drumwork sound like the spastic heartbeat of a dying leviathan.

               

Occasionally, I wish I could get a little more clarity when hearing the sinister, crackling sample work Allen Scott weaves through “The Wayward and the Lost”.  The inflections sound just right, but I’m wondering if I’m missing out on some of the more interesting spots in “Liar’s Cross” or the monologue at the heart of the death doom title track.  Which isn’t to say Beneath Oblivion buries everything in distortion.  The folky guitar tones, subtle organ lines, and hypnotic background vocals of “Liar’s Cross” are all brilliant counterpoints to the crackling malevolence at the heart of the song.

               

The closing track, “Satyr”, is a propulsive, cinematic opus on a record stacked with epic, expansive compositions.  Layered with samples, countered guitar and bass harmonies, crackling static, and the typically massive drum tone, the cumulative effect is nearly orchestral.  But this isn’t some triumphant lift out of darkness.  Simpson instead spits out a hate-filled eulogy for a damned race: our own.  “We, the futile, / Hand of man's failures, / We, the worthless / Forgotten, the void / Of light, Of suffering.”  These are lacerating condemnations that could give you tetanus.  As a final kiss-off, he advises “Hold on- To your guns / To your drugs / The end is near.”  With a final, painful sample of chugging exhaust and ambient industrial noise, there’s little doubt that Beneath Oblivion’s prophecy feels all but carved in stone.  “The Wayward and the Lost” may be the first album to induce lethal sepsis, especially for those unprepared for the sheer annihilating depths of the quartet’s funereal, occasionally sublime, brand of sludgy doom.  For those who revel in plumbing the nightmarish depths, this nihilistic plunge is just the trip you need.

“The Wayward and the Lost” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook

ALBUM REVIEW: Tronald - "Tronald"

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 30/09/2017

Label: APF Records

…combining distorted guitars, chugging bass and flicks of vocal melody trapped under a crushing boulder of decomposing blackened death metal. It is raw and piercing in a fashion you cannot reasonably expect on a debut. But there it is, moldering for your delight.

“Tronald” CD//DD track listing

1. Tronald

2. Boss Keloid Are Shit

3. Obelisk Ov Hash

4. Dalnort

5. Gains (Prelude)

6. Vegan Gains

7. Get Your Grubby Little Hands Off My Bennell

8. Burgled Senseless

The Review:

Over the next four years, it is all but assured that you will hear the voice of U.S. President Donald Trump a lot more in extreme music than you ever thought possible. Some of it will certainly be based in outright opposition; there have been a trickling of music thus far critical of the new Commander in Chief by everyone from Prophets of Rage to rapper YG, whose "Fuck Donald Trump" last year gained the California native a lot more notoriety than he previously had. However, much more from metal will surely be inspired by Trump's strongman persona. His over-the-top threats and flowery promises from a world leader are the stuff of Megadeth and Queensryche concept recordings. Hearing President Trump's bluster on "Danlort," off Tronald's self-titled debut, you may be reminded that this period could musically be a very long four to eight years.

The specter of power is one that metal has reflexively rebelled against, whether it is the doctrines of organized Christian faith, authoritarians of every stripe or the stricter social norms that define mainstream culture. Usually such aggression is answered with the sort of musical force that only metal can deliver.

For you, "Tronald" may be just that kind of soundtrack. No stress if you are already at peak-Trump, peak-knee or whatever outrage is happening at the second. The Manchester, UK namesake do not come across as an expressly political collective. Tronald is, however, well suited to deliver an assertive and uncompromisingly heavy recording. Just as exciting, the listener gets treated to an inventive group with a fiery first outing in its new self-titled release.

What makes Tronald so engaging to catch is the diversity of its approach. Ticking in at just under 20 minutes, the eight tracks on "Tronald" are one of the more interesting collections you will hear this fall. From practicing a chorus to the previously mentioned Trump snippets, Tronald mixes in its doom and sludge-heavy style a healthy dose of experimentation. Whether it is a hardcore/thrash chord or two in "Vegan Gains" or grinding pace of "Bennel," you hear a band that is crafting what it may eventually be in the future. Right now, Tronald does many things quite well, at least in small spurts – more than half the cuts are less than two minutes. Long enough to be intriguing, but short enough to make you wonder what comes next.

On "Obelisk," Tronald's longest song, you get perhaps a better sense of what the quintet is capable of. The doom track creates a humid scene around it, one that combines distorted guitars, chugging bass and flicks of vocal melody trapped under a crushing boulder of decomposing blackened death metal. You get the picture. It is raw and piercing in a fashion you cannot reasonably expect on a debut. But there it is, moldering for your delight.

Discerning fans will count several influences, and Tronald does not break particularly new ground just yet. However, the band gets off to a rousing start. And one has to feel optimistic about its future.

"Tronald" is available here:

Band info: bandcamp || facebook