Full of Hell & Merzbow (2014)

American powerviolence/noise titans Full of Hell and Japanese noise artist Merzbow worked together to create a hugely dark, evocative work, When this thing dropped last November, it hit like a dirty bomb on a highly populated city - sooner or later, you're going to feel it.

Artwork: After multiple viewings, I realized that the  cover is not purely abstract and features a human being either being consumed by fire or dissolved in acid. It is a beautiful work, brutal in its simplicity, able to inspire while unsettling, much like the sounds delivered on this record.

Structure: FOH/Merzbow is a two-part release, with the primary offering sounding like a new FOH record with Merzbow weaving atmosphere and noise into each crevice of FOH's compositions. While the album as a whole works to create a single effect, each track is its own small entity with a unique identity. The second half of the release, titled Sister Fawn, was released both as a very limited cassette (first 100 pre-orders) and as a second disc with the CD version of this album. Sister Fawn works to complement the primary portion of this release by placing Merzbow up front, creating whirlwind after whirlwind of noise and sound effects, with FOH working to support his compositions with their dark, ruthless assault in a secondary role.

Sound: This release features FOH taking another subtle step away from their hardcore roots, this time in a death metal direction, occasionally featuring pounding beats and discordant riffs in the vein of bands like Suffocation and Cannibal Corpse. The production here is similar to Rudiments... - dark, brooding, and savagely kinetic, but unique in the way that it leaves room for Merzbow to add textures through it. All of the ferocious hardcore/powerviolence energy showcased throughout FOH's history is still being used to its maximum potential here, but the nuanced changes of dynamic throughout this record make it more than a sequel to their previous release, showing that FOH has a unique artistic identity, vaguely reminiscent of other bands but still completely identifiable, even on a first listen, as Full of Hell.

Lyrics: FOH's lyrics, from the first releases to the present, read like the dark poetic ramblings of a genius gone mad. Each song on this collaborative record paints a new picture, and the peak of the experience of listening to this record, like every previous FOH release, is found when piecing together the difference elements described, being ripped from the larynx of vocalist Dylan Walker, into a mental image as the song blazes by like an electric charge, too quick to grasp any single piece. FOH sets itself apart from the majority of current bands that exist under the hardcore umbrella, in that their lyrics are just as important as the compositions being played. It is hard to sit down with a FOH record with its lyrics sheet out and not be inspired.

For Fans Of: Charles Bronson, Weekend Nachos, Man Is The Bastard, Gasp

Favorite Lyrics: "human violence turns the gears
voices cry, no words form"

Favorite Track: Blue Litmus

1. Burst Synapse
2. Gordian Knot
3. Humming Miter
4. Blue Litmus
5. Raise Thee, Great Wall, Bloodied and Terrible
6. Thrum in the Deep
7. Shattered Knife
8. Mute
9. High Fells
10. Ludjet Av Gud
11. Fawn Heads and Unjoy
12. Ergot
13. Merzdrone
14. Aphid
15. Crumbling Ore
16. Litany of Desire

Rating: 8 / 10 

Merch: Cold Cuts // Topshelf
Listen: bandcamp
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