Descent by Strid
This album is a really unique approach to one of my favorite genres. Usually with Depressive Suicidal Black Metal, the goal is to sound as miserable and pained as possible and that’s reflected in the melodies. This album takes a different approach and utilizes harpsichord like instrumentation and much happier sounding progressions with a less punishing distorted sound. Then, the vocalist proceeds to wallow in this feeling as they painfully cries and mewls over it. It feels like remembering the past, pain, and regret all wrapped into this softer approach to DSBM that creates a truly unique experience. Strid is from northeast UK which isn’t a place I see many DSBM coming out of, so it was interesting to see their unique take here.
“Sunday” uses the typical harpsichord type approach and ropes the listener in with softly cried hysteric vocals that then progress into full screams about halfway through the song. The screams themselves here really interest me because they aren’t focused on intensity. Instead, they feel like they are slowly pulled out of the vocalist as they riss up to the full scream then immediately stop. It’s not attempting to rest in that scream until the final screams at the end of the song where they really let it all loose. This build up really drags out the misery of the track and is what DSBM should be all about.
“Sommar” utilizes a plucked guitar that really creates a weird tone in the intro with a lot of happy birds chirping in the background which immediately falls into a punishing consistently slow distorted mess with the birds still chirping over. If Sunday was remembering, then “Sommar” feels like falling into and being consumed by those memories. It’s frantic cries and atmospheric fuzzy distortion layer of guitar under them creates a DSBM that isn’t attempting to be heavy, just melancholic. All the while, the birds continue to sing, indifferent to all.
“Personal Forest” feels much more like the normal DSBM, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. The shrieking crying screams are fantastically done and feel like they’re falling apart and breaking as they do them. This really adds more to the sorrow he’s trying to convey. Then, the clean transcendent vocals after the screams add to an eerie feeling. This song feels like calling out into the void, the vocals let out so much emotion and just keep going for the entire song with the guitar melodies becomes darker and darker as the album continues.
“Amygdala” has a very interesting riff I’ve never really seen done before. It’s a clean tapped riff that continues throughout the entire song. This song takes everything from across the album and combines it. It’s got the distorted guitar, crying screaming, clean transcendent vocals, clean harpsichord-like crying, soft crying vocals, etc. My favorite part of the song is a little under halfway when there is a perfect switch from the softly cried vocals and clean guitar to a distorted guitar and an absolute classic black metal scream as the singer rages out of the crying portion.
“Ache” is the last track with lyrics on the album and really feels like its name. The track is a punishing distorted mess and screamed out frantic cries. The angelic female vocals over the screams create a great juxtaposition. Then as the song ends, it seamlessly blends with the final track “Outro” which sees the distorted riff play out with piano backing until all that’s left is the solo piano to close the entire album. It’s a beautiful ending and a great example of not doing too much but doing just enough to service the song.
In summary, it is an incredibly strong and unique DSBM album that allows itself to experiment and create something new. I really enjoyed the change up to the classic DSBM formula and look forward to see even more experimentation in the future.
Painter of Dead Girls by Pig Destroyer
With the 20th year anniversary edition release of this compilation of B-sides and singles, it was important to go back and listen to them again since I’ve always been a huge Pig Destroyer fan! The album is interesting since it’s such a capture of different eras of the band, but it still manages to keep the sound consistent despite this.
It starts casually with the track “Hymn” originally released in 2004. It’s hard to believe this was released during the same year as their hit album “Terrifyer” because it feels completely different. It’s a bit of a slower track compared to their usual tempos, but it doesn’t lose the strength and frantic energy that Pig Destroyer is known for. Overall, not my favorite pick from the album, but a great start!
“Taskmaster” is from an old split album from 2002 and feels much more reminiscent of the frantic fast grinding riffs and panicked screams of “Prowler in the Yard,” arguably my favorite Pig Destroyer album. It’s got these faster riffs that are grinding through the entire song with great drums as the cymbals are smacked at in inhumane speed to keep up this frantic feel. Towards the end, the riff starts to feel like it’s squealing more as slight pinch harmonics are hit that contribute to more of this frantic vibe. Overall, great track that’s very reminiscent of the early Pig Destroyer.
Coming in at only 31 seconds, “Black Centipede” offers a substantial grindcore riff, but it really shines with the vocals. It ends with a great high pitched scream that really chills the bones.
“Black Dice” is another notable track because of its very unique riff that keeps me coming back to it. The panicked feel of the riff really adds to the strength of the song here since it’s so short.
“Patterns of Failure” feels like a whirling mess of self loathing and misanthropy. It makes great use of the vocalists high screams and low screams with the classic pig destroyer filter effect over the vocals to really emphasize the inhumanity. The drums are very cleanly done for the speed here which isn’t something I usually apply to Grindcore, but they are extremely clean here alongside the churning guitar. Might be one of my favorites!
“Painter of Dead Girls” the track that gives the album its name! It’s a great track in every way! Very classic grindcore that doesn’t try to do anything fancy or new with the genre, but it sticks to what works and does just enough to make a unique song with its multiple pauses and rests in the song that keep the listener interested.
“In the Meantime” feels interesting because it doesn’t feel like a grindcore song to me! The guitar tone is certainly grindcore, but if anything, the riff almost feels like it could come off an Eyehategod record or some other Southern Sludge. It’s an interesting style difference that I actually enjoyed.
It’s a classic grindcore album from one of my favorite grindcore bands of all time, so it’s unsurprisingly good to me, but while it is nice to have these tracks on spotify, it isn’t as strong as some of the other albums frkm the band.