Full of Hell | website | facebook |
Merzbow | Facebook
Released on November 25, 2014 via Profound Lore Records (CD) / A389 Recordings (LP)
What does one say about a band that hasn’t been said before? How does one fully do something justice that has received endless praise? I have no idea, but I’ll give it a go nonetheless. Full of Hell have released 2 full-lengths so far, which has made waves amongst extreme music enthusiasts, everywhere. Combining various sub-genres and styles, malformed to create a very unique soundscape. Their first release, Roots of Earth Are Consuming My Home, absolutely destroyed me and I didn’t really know what to make of it on the first listen, all I knew is that I needed to listen to it again and again in order to understand and dissect the various noises that were being hurled at my eardrums. An assault on the senses that complete disorientates and strikes you with both fear and wonder at the same time.
I was fortunate enough to review their second full-length, Rudiments Of Mutilation, which was a release that seamlessly formed part of their now transcending soundscape, which has become an incoherent, yet recognizable sound. It becomes abundantly clear to you that this isn’t just a once off “concept” album or experimental band for that matter, there is genius at work here, structure amongst the chaos that is Full of Hell. Once you cotton on to what these dudes are trying to achieve, you’ll probably appreciate them a lot more from a creativity point of view. It very often takes bands years and various records to accomplish what these lads have accomplished in 2 releases. I think an adequate description would be that they are mature and wise beyond their years, setting the bar pretty high, not only for other bands, but for themselves. Not that I think there are even a handful of bands who come close to comparing, but I’ll remain somewhat optimistic, going against my cynical nature in order to be somewhat “professional”.
So, what would the next step be for a band who’ve accomplished in 2 records, what most bands couldn’t do in years? The answer of course to push the next extreme and doing so by teaming up with noise’s most periodical son known to most simply as Merzbow, the Japanese master of noise. When I say noise, I mean something so gut-wrenching intense that a 5-track album is absolute torment to sit through, yet complete ecstasy at the same time. The noiseheads among you will know what I’m talking about. This being said I have been submerging myself into noise over the last few years, slowly but surely, in all forms, from 1 man projects to 2 piece noisecore bands to the more traditional electronic noise hybrids.
If you own any of the previous Full of Hell records and you listen to them often enough, you will pick up on the noise element that is inherent in their music, yet done so that it compliments it as a final product. These protocols of anti-sound can be used to push a record above and beyond, but this time it’s truly something special.
Finally the long awaited Full of Hell Collaboration with Merzbow is due for release on the 25th of November 2014 via Profound Lore Records on CD and a389 Recordings on LP. It is harder, faster and more frightening than the previous two releases combined. Listening through it, you’re struck with awe and you wonder how a bunch of normal human beings can come up with something so incredibly harsh, intense and harrowing. Even from previous records, there has always been an element of their music that’s reminded me of Man is the Bastard, I think it comes down to the noise element in the music itself. Something they have incorporated from the very beginning and now they’re taking it to another level with the help from the noise master Merzbow.
This record rips into you at the speed of light and doesn’t really feel like it will ever let up. Short, fast and loud with an abundance of tempo changes that are brief, you barely have a chance to catch your breath. It definitely has a more girndy feel to it than previous releases, at least in the beginning. Up until the middle of the record there isn’t much trace of an overbearing noise element, electronically anyway, however it does come into play a lot more towards the end of the record, where it is definitely very prevalent.
Their sound has evolved in such a way, that it basically has become a trademark sound. When you listen to a band’s first releases you pick up on various influences from different artists. This time round, two releases later, they’ve come into their own and you go, yeah, that’s Full of Hell right there. It’s that kind of maturity from not only a record, but a band, and especially this band that has impressed me so much with this latest release.
The collaboration with Merzbow least we forget, is a pivotal part of this release. I think that they’ve really outdone themselves this time, which will just add to that soundscape and make it even more obscure and put them out there on their own. No other band I’ve heard comes close to this release. They’re doing their own thing and not really compromising or settling at any sort of level, it just keeps on pushing the boundaries of extreme music.
The cohesion between Full of Hell and Merzbow seems to be inseparable throughout this record. The combination of youth and experience forms the perfect cohesion and transcends this record above and beyond anything I have ever come across. Over all I think this collaboration was a move of genius for both parties.
This collaboration with Merzbow has to be one of the records of the year in my opinion and I would highly recommend you get a hold of this release. There probably won’t be any left around the release date, especially for those of us whole live in countries where postal strikes have been dragging on for 4-5 months. So I urge you to get a hold of Full of Hell & Merzbow, it is absolutely terrifying, harsh and howling, but that’s how we like it. This collaboration is a phenomenal release and probably one of the best, if not the best of the year.
