Life is chaos and infuriating more often than not. Anyone who denies that is living a lie or is so ensconced in dreamland to acknowledge what’s going on everywhere. Luckily, grind experimentalists Full of Hell seem well aware of this fact, and their volcanic records reflect that.
Their latest, “Trumpeting Ecstasy,” is an 11-track effort that, in true grind fashion, is over before you know it. I realized that I can listen to this record almost twice while doing my thrice weekly elliptical training, which is a fun time, right? The record, not the elliptical. That thing’s boring as fuck. Anyway, Full of Hell also are full of surprises, and one of the most surprising things about this record is it’s a fairly back-to-basics return to form for the band. They’re here to level you and leave no traces of DNA behind. The band—Spencer Hazard (guitars) Dylan Walker (vocals, electronics) David Bland (drums), Samuel DiGristine (bass)—holed up with the great Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studios to create this bastard, and they also got some great contributions from Aaron Turner (Sumac, Old Man Gloom), Nate Newton (Old Man Gloom, Converge, Doomriders), Andrew Nolan (Column of Heaven, the Endless Blockade), and singer-songwriter Nicole Dollanganger, who absolutely owns the song on which she participates. The result is another awesome Full of Hell document that tears holes in your equilibrium.
The record starts with a Warner Herzog quote warped to hell, with him talking about the environment being in misery, and then it’s off with a full-on assault, with fierce shrieks and gross growls entangling, and the band punishing fully. “Branches of Yew” blasts by in 51 seconds, as the vocals warp reality, and the band launches complete demolition. “Bound Sphinx” tears at your guts right away, as the chorus boasts a death metal-friendly barrage, leading into sludgy chaos and a noise-infested flood. “The Cosmic Vein,” as hinted, has strange space sounds spreading out before jerky crushing arrives and lands haymakers. The pace of the song blisters, while crazed shrieks get inside your head and dizzy you. “Digital Prison” is a 41-second blast that has the bass clobbering and death grunts going for the throat, and that’s followed by “Crawling Back to God,” an unnerving track that features strange robotic speaking, a groove-splattered grind assault, and riffy madness that leads to the song’s misery-inducing ending point.
“Fractured Quartz” is another 41-second smasher complete with virulent speed, growls and shrieks battling, and complete terror meted out. “Gnawed Flesh” has a thick bassline, more tangling vocals, and a nasty, guttural approach. “Man will always fail!” sounds like a battle cry, while the end of the track is muddy and clobbering. “Ashen Mesh” is off to the races right away, as the death growls sicken, and there even are a few moments where the song’s kind of catchy. The vocals get ugly again, while noise is smooshed over the finish. “At the Cauldron’s Bottom” is a really surprising one, featuring Dollanganger singing over what sounds like a dumpster fire of noise looking to take lives. Her presence transforms this song into something eerie and mystical, before the final minutes bruise anew and remind you that you’re not, in fact, living in a detached dream world. The closing title cut is the longest at 6:23, as the song tears apart and dumps heavy riffs into its chemical makeup. The title is growled and howled repeatedly, before the cries of, “We’re lost, we’re losing!” delivers a reality check before everything corrodes into a file of ash and filth.
Full of Hell keep their wheels grinding and their artillery firing on full with “Trumpeting Ecstasy,” a 24-minute record that’s going to be really hard to top from the entire contingent of grindcore bands combined. This record is vicious and sudden, a perfect example for why this band is held in such high regard. This is violent, aggravated shit that perfectly aligns with the goddamn miserable world in which we live.
For more on the band, go here: http://fullofhell.com/
To buy the album, go here: https://profoundlorerecords.merchtable.com
For more on the label, go here: http://www.profoundlorerecords.com/
Meat Mead Metal 