by Ken Geiger
Truth be told, I cannot give you some background story of victory in which I discovered Full of Hell back in their earliest days and have been anticipating they would make such a momentous record like Trumpeting Ecstasy. I came late to the party with them, finding their incredibly bleak collaboration with The Body to be one of my favorite records of 2016. As awesome as it was, I still could not help but wonder where the band would go from there. Would they continue down the noise-influenced grindcore path of that collaboration, or would they embrace more of the death metal path that they dabbled in on the Amber Mote in the Black Vault EP? Although I had become more familiar with the former, I am glad they ended up doing the latter because Trumpeting Ecstasy has all the makings to become a benchmark in extreme underground music.
The album comes roaring right out of the gate with the lighting quick "Deluminate," and it refuses to let up until the final seconds of the closer, "At the Bottom of the Cauldron." While this album does contain a large amount of influence from grindcore song structure throughout most of the album, it is the little nuances that the band add into these songs that make them so entertaining to listen to again and again. "Branches of Yew" sticks out with its skittish vocals that find vocalist Dylan Walker impersonating Mike Patton, if he were possessed by some demonic spirit. The guitar break in the middle of "The Cosmic Vein" draws equal influence from old school black metal and hardcore punk a-la The Dead Kennedys. The title track is probably the farthest departure from the band's usual sound to date, as it is a song that relies more on an industrial noise song pattern than it does any guitar riffs of heavy blast beats. The track is proof that the band obviously learned well from their time spent with The Body (one of that band's members, Lee Buford, actually appears on this track). Hopefully that is a sound they will explore more of on their own in the future.
What really stole the show for me on this record though were the vocal performances, whether they came from Dylan Walker or any of the various guests. These vocals are what make this band stand out from their contemporaries. They are demented to the point where you almost feel as if they pull you down into whatever pit of despair the band is singing about. This is especially the case on the latter half of "Gnawed Flesh," where Walker repeats the line "Man will fail. Man will always fail." Whenever I hear that moment, I tend to feel almost disgusted at the world based just on the sheer power of the guttural vocal performance. It has been quite some time since a vocal performance has caught me in that manner.
This is easily the best release for extreme metal I have heard this year. This record overall is one of the best releases of 2017. The band managed to live up to the hype that has surrounded them now by simply doing what they do best, which is drag their fans through the depths of nihilism and punishing riffs. Look for the band to tour the hell (no pun intended) out of this record soon, because this could be your last shot to see a band like this play such small venues.
Recommended Tracks: "Branches of Yew," "Crawling Back to God," "Gnawed Flesh," "Trumpeting Ecstasy."
Trumpeting Ecstasy is out now on Profound Lore Records.
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