The album’s themes are set out plainly in the song titles: ‘Pleasure, Pain, Disease’, ‘Burning Hate’, ‘Chains of the Afterlife’, etc., all provide ample indication of what to expect here. Eternal damnation, torment, torture and everlasting pain are represented sonically, clawing at the listener’s very soul. As you would probably expect: Black Breath have built themselves quite a fearsome reputation since their inception in 2006, and ‘Slaves Beyond Death’ is being released by Southern Lord after all. What more do you need to know?
Well, it may help to know that it’s a monster of an album, the eight tracks all exceeding the five-minute mark, and each one packed with churning metallic guitars powered by thumping d-beat percussion. While the emphasis is very much on the mid-tempo grind, they’re not averse to powering up and turbo-charging into some high-octane thrashes, making for an album that’s rich in dynamics.
|
The delicate intro to ‘Seed of Cain’ provided a change of tone and renders the crushing power chords that ensue all the more potent.
There’s an impressive amount of detail and texture here, thanks to the clarity of the production (courtesy of Converge’s Kurt Ballou). That doesn’t mean it’s excessively polished or lacks bite: quite the opposite, but it does mean the volume and impact is accentuated, and that it’s possible to appreciate the complex song structures and the musicianship instead of being assaulted by a grey wall of noise. It also makes Neil McAdams’ tortured vocal growl all the more terrifying.
author: Christopher Nosnibor
|
