FAITHXTRACTOR : "Loathing & the Noose"

This duo out of Ohio is back with their 5th album that finds the onslaught dialed into a well-shaded blend of aggression. It throbs with enough darkness for the atmosphere to provide dynamics to the double bass and gnashing of teeth. The riffs follow an angular slither that carries an almost blackened menace to it. "the Loathing' has more chaos, and packs a juggernaut of a punch that leans more toward the hyper-aggressive Deicide side of death metal. This means the brutality has been refined into a jagged machine of interlocking riffs rather than the more brutal Cannibal Corpse side of the genre that is more blunt force trauma to the ears. 

"Fever Dream Litanies" blasts by in a blurry frenzy as they give things over to speed. The result is more pummelling. The relent on the tempos midway into "Flooded Tombs" creates a more dynamic range and sets the stage for the chaotic bursts of solos to make sense rather than sound like rushed cacophony. There is a more commanding riff leading into "Ethos Moribund", the blinding fast guitar sections keep the intensity up, as the drumming allows for tension in the build-up before they open the floodgates and just pour on the speed. There are a few cool riffs, but the rule here is 'cool riffs alone does not a good song make". The vocals stuff at the kind of gruff growl you expect from death metal. 

The breather leading into "Caveats" is needed, an this atmosphere helps create a dynamic space keeping everything from just pounding into your ears again. They carry this further into the song so it simmers in darkness and becomes the album's best song. They lay on the speed for about thirty seconds at the end of the song and it works as it's not just a relentless hammering. On 'Beholden Nightmare" the lay more of the speed, with guitar solos racing out from every corner.  This results in the song just blasting by with a uniform aggression flowing through it. "Cerecloth Vision Veil" opens with a more morose mood lingering over it. This allows the guitars to create melodies over it. The double bass bubbles in a more deliberate patter. The riffs shift fludilt, but nothing really commands you with its hook. I will give this album an 8. It works for what they are doing but sometimes gets overtaken by the aggression that comes with the territory in this genre. The is dropping on Redefining Darkness.  

7

pst7