Red Rot :"Borders of Mania"

 This band's first album scored a 9 with us, which is pretty impressive. I went into that one already a fan of Ephel Duath. It was an easy sell, and they went above and beyond, There is more of a crusty hardcore undercurrent to this one. It is almost like faster Neurosis. The vocals have more of a scathing howl to them than a growl. There are even sung vocals. There is a sonic dissonance to the riff propelling the second song up from the abyss. The odd use of angular vocal melodies and the weird vibe of the song is going to take some time to sit with. The eerie manner in the guitars sets an ominous stage, as the thunder lurks behind the stalking chug. The drummer seems always eager to throw down and put his foot on the gas. 

I appreciate the dark tone of this album. It is not just fuelled by the kind of aggression that normally takes the wheel for this sort of thing. The deliberate riffing continues to keep the drummer in check. It is not until four songs in that they join him to cut loose and even then it is not a reckless speed fest. The throbbing bleakness continues with "Messianic Alteration". The pounding slowly builds as the album get's angrier as it progresses. This finds things accelerating to more of a grateful storm on "Inner Voice'. I do not mind the storm since I know I can rely on them to shift the dynamics sooner rather than later. I am sure the drummer is glad to get some of those blast beats out of his system. They prove me right with "Overlord' which moves with the creepy grace of doom. It is the album's darkest moment so far. So you know I love it. 

"Not in Control" blasts with more fury, though there is more of a deliberate groove in places. They continue barreling with unrelenting thunder. I like the way sung vocals are used on this album. It's not in a predictable formula. "Endless Ravine" has a more cavernous storm to it. At times it is not far removed what Tombs' less black metal moments. "Vindication" is the first song where the overt heaviness begins to wear a little thin. Granted it is 11 songs in. "Self Harm Scars" is more like sludged-out death metal.  Then is takes a more melancholic turn towards a rawer vision of death doom, that does not have Peaceville aspirations. Despite the way, the somewhat gothy-sung vocals wander in. The cadence of the harder vocals begins to have a uniform feel this deep into the album. 

The last song that follows an ambient interlude, finds them hovering around mood. I appreciate this but when they were simmering your ears in the storm of riffs earlier it might have been more unique to have some of these sounds woven into it. As the closing song drones more it develops into something worthy of climaxing this album. Despite my qualms regarding how this album peters out, give it a 9, as the bulk of it is pretty great and upholds the mission statement of their artistic vision occupying a space in heavy music we need more of. This album is being released on May 10th on Hammerheart Records. 

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Red Rot : "Mal de Vivre"

As a fan of Ephel Duath, I do not require much convincing to check out a band with two of the former members, namely the guitarist and vocalist. The first song is a dark dissonant wonderment that marries drone to progressive embellishments as the drummer who is from the Botanist uses jazz like precision to dance around the throb of the song.  "Undeceased" finds the band beginning to remind me of Meshuggah , though not following the djent path due to their explosive nature. More in how the bark of the commanding vocals sit above the chaos oozing from the riffs that undulate beneath them. There is a great deal going on that took me a couple of listens to gather my thoughts on. I like the sung vocals going into "Near Disaster" as it sets this band apart as more of an entity unto themselves than when the snarling barks come in. 

I was over thirty seconds into "Everlasting Creature" before I realized this was not the previous song. It does take a more conventional metal approach in its attack. I prefer how things get darker and doomier on "After the Funeral" which includes the vocals sung more melodically. They reach an almost My Dying Bride like place with it.  To have progressive tendencies, the songwriting is not sprawling and very compact, hitting you with quick punches of hyper aggression sometimes under two minutes. The sung vocals once again keeping "Greatest Failure" from sounding like a Meshuggah tribute, though musical the riffs on this one ow more to older Morbid Angel. They grind with a machine-like grit against angular patterns. "Behind the Secret" . The more melodic tendencies of the band come out on "Conversations with the Demon". It does grind down into some heavier riffs, but the darker mood leaves breathing room for them. Not all the songs embrace the fresh air approach, with "Dualism" " a more straight-ahead metal grinder, though it's under a minute long. "Emotional Neglect " picks up where it left off it just pounds for longer.

The darker more dissonant songs are preferred. They can do this while still being full of metallic bombast, as heard on "Gruesome Memento" as the drummer is really off the chain with his fills. The second half of the alum doubles down on heaviness. They pound hard with the writhing riffs on " Dishonorably Discharged".  Three of the songs in this vein are all under two minutes. The seems to circle death metal and sludge the most as genres they sonically pull from. The vocals hard core syncopation keeping them from just being a death metal, but death metal is the broad net they would fall under. The last track is just a synth outro. I will give this album a 9, I look forward to hearing more from these guys as despite the Meshuggah like vocal approach at times, they are doing something unique. This album drops on Svart Records August 26th.