Death is June - APES : " Penitence"

 

The grime and grit this band from Canada kicks up is hyper-aggressive and dark enough to be covered under this banner.  They might be marketed as blackened grind-gore, but what sonically unfolds is another story. Grindcore and Death Metal already interact at very finely lined crossroads.   It is not to say there is no black metal influence on a song like "The Great Fire" but it's like splitting an atom to separate from death metal. This is pure anger. Violent anger. You could say a shared sense of misanthropy exists, but black metal is the kind of anger that spills out when it is turned inward versus death metal  that feels more like an abused pitbull striking back., That is why distinct lyrical themes exist between the two genres. These guys are not angry for the sake of darkness. 

For me, a song like "Echoes" works better than "Closure" even though there is a more blasting feel to it. We are getting more varied sonics and tempos, whereas the previous song is just the pounding of sonic brute force. Not to say there is not a time and place for that but it must be tempered with melody of some kind even dissonance. Of course, when it comes to my tastes I am always going to prefer the darker option. "Bottom Feeder" has more of a muscular hardcore drive to it. But deep within the storm, there is a melody that creates a fuller layer of sound.  This along with powerful riffing makes the song work.

The title track takes us to a darker place. I can hear more of the black metal influence in this one. But in 2024 black metal has left its stain on metal as a whole. It is like a haunted house where the Satanic rituals performed there have warped the essence ... for the better, I might add. I can also hear some Integrity influence lurking around. They end things on a high note with "Pillars' to create a more sonically interesting tapestry of sound. It is also the album's darkest song. I will give this album a 9, as despite some of it's lapses into blast fests it colors the songs with more depth than you expect from this sort of thing. 

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