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Loathe - Darkest Night Of The Soul
Thanks to the vocalist, Beast, for
the CD. The five tracks are...
- The Dark Diaries. Whatever you do, don't
adjust the volume! Quiet opening gives way to full blown fury.
Hardcore collides with metalcore with extreme metal vocals ranging
from death grunts to barked aggression. Brutal opener.
- It Will Get Worse. Spoken sample leads into
spine tingling opening scream. A chunky thrash riff follows,
more subdued than the first track, but dripping with menace.
Clean vocals regrettably don't work, but then the breakdown
kicks in. Wow!!
- Ragdoll. Essentially how you will be in
the pit! Quality opening riff, concussive yet groove-laden.
Surgical in its precision, attacks your pressure points and
never lets up.
- Children Of A Lesser God. Minimalist opening
is dripping with maliciousness, with Slayer tone to guitar work.
Then all hell breaks loose! Chorus is overcomplicated and detracts
from the overall carnage. Contains an absolutely skull-crushing
breakdown.
- This Overwhelming Grasp Of Solitude. Chuggy
thrasher with modern extreme metal stylings. Clean vocals really
grate, generates enough malevolence and violence though. Loses
impetus slightly and the sections clash rather than flow. Closing
section is stunning though - prolonged kick-drumming and general
carnage!
Loathe are ferocious
live and this EP gives you an idea of their unrelenting savagery.
Production is solid throughout. Tempo changes are subtle and numerous,
yet all handled deftly. Beware their breakdowns - brutal doesn't
come close! My only negative is the clean vocals which simply
don't work. Otherwise this is a staggering exhibition of precision
modern extreme metal. Get hold of a copy and headbang violently
until they next tour!!
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