SOPHIST - Dissolution
Niflhel Records
The genre tagline for this is blackened grind. Now sure it's all that but I'm going to let my imagination run wild. So for me, after listening to it a few times, comes off more like a macabre concerto performed deep within the bowels of a slaughter house. And no I'm not guilty of hyperbole.
SOPHIST are a three piece act from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada who started out last year and pumped out 3 short form releases (an EP and two singles). This is their full length debut which also includes the two songs from those singles. I believe it's safe to say that this band had an early vision of what they wanted and quickly put it out.
Now as far as the sub-genre of blackened grind goes there's two schools of thought as well as performance. Most of you familiar with the sound will cite England's ANAAL NATHRAKH as a mile-marker. Yeah sure they've put out some cool releases over the years but there are times when they've gotten too technical and very insane.
Of course over the years I've heard bands tagged as blackened grind who fall on the weaker side of the aisle. In that they have the chops as well as violent fury running through their music. They just don't fully bring on that total black metal atmosphere of dread. That's why I believe SOPHIST actually gets blackened grind right and are probably the best at it as of now.
Dissolution just starts out from it's opening track at a full blown sprint. It goes through ten tracks in just over thirty minutes of play time without slowing down at all. I have a lot of admiration for the drum work on here. It's just this relentless animalized brutality. Second favorite thing on here are the vocals which come across like a sick demented and possessed priest giving a sermon for the ages.
Add to all of that hysteria are the guitar and bass riffs. For the most part it's some steady grind assault but with some wild dissonant chord progressions and a dive bomb solo or two which is short but painful. Finally there's this feeling of claustrophobia which permeates throughout this recording. It's as if you're whole reality is being destroyed around you and you're trying to dodge the debris. Like I said before this is blackened grind done right.
https://niflhelrecords.com/
https://sophistmetal.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SophistMetal/
No comments:
Post a Comment