PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
An album of extreme Metal to put at the top of your shopping list.
Without doubt, Australia’s most extreme purveyors of Metal, unless you can tell me different of course, are back to pummel your audio equipment into submission with an album that is brutally unrelenting in its attack. Following on from 2011’s ’Vo1d’ ep and with Cain Cressall now carrying the vocal torch, the band have come on leaps and bounds in terms of their overall presence and indeed technical prowess, culminating in an album that is truly huge.
Yes, the album is very, very loud but not to the point where it is noise for noise’s sake, I found the mix of brutal Metal riffs, experimental noise and progressive elements exceptionally listenable and accessible. ’Flesh Is Heir’ comes across as a finely tuned and well honed piece of Industrial Black Metal magic, opening with the title track, the tone and pace is set against a backdrop of decay, destruction and lost hope, both going hand in hand to conjure an atmosphere of dark and organic evil.
The vocal performance of Cain is nothing short of superb, as much aggression and hate as you could wish for and yet delivered in a controlled and sometimes restrained fashion that is a joy to behold, the track ’Ego Ergo Sum’, in my view, demonstrates his talents to their best advantage, also having a monstrous and crushing riff that makes it my personal album favourite. ’A Womb Tone’ demonstrates the bands industrial/progressive leanings, a coherent mish mash of fetal heartbeats, noise and drones, musical elements and even the tinkle of a tambourine that all work and blend together perfectly to create a somewhat disturbing vibe but thoroughly captivating never the less.
The drum sound of Robin Stone powers the album along at a breakneck pace and is worthy of all the acclaim that the performance deserves, ’Sewer’ being a great example of how varied the pace can be.
This certainly isn’t an album for the faint hearted or those of a nervous disposition, it’s a collection of tracks that will serve to raise your anger levels and cast your good nature to the winds, with perhaps the exception of ’Cell’, a track that will take you on a journey to your psyches deepest and darkest recesses, such is the intensity and blackness contained therein.
Obviously this will be seen as the bands high point so far and rightly so, you could do a lot worse than give this album a try. If you’ve always wanted to dip your toes into the waters of extreme music, then get this as your paddling partner. Highly recommended.
Rating 9/10.
Track Listing;
1. Flesh Is Heir.
2. Ego Ergo Sum.
3. Teeth.
4. A Womb Tone.
5. Obliterate’s Prayer.
6. Sewer.
7. The Argument.
8. Cell.
9. Disintegrate.
10. A Palimpsest.
11. Tabula Rasa.
The Amenta are;
Cain Cressall – Vocals.
Timothy Pope – Samples/Programming.
Erik Miehs – Guitar.
Dan Quinlan – Bass.
Robin Stone – Drums.
Out now via Listenable Records.
http://www.facebook.com/theamenta
