Release
date: March 4th
2016. Label: Rise Above Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
And
Then There Were None – Tracklisting
1.
The Hell Benders
2.
Make Them Die Slowly
3.
Doctor Death
4.
River Demon
5.
Confessions of an Embittered Soul
6.
Suicide Journey
7.
Murderfreak Blues
Band
Members:
Tatsu
Mikami (bass)
Dave
Szulkin (guitar)
Eric
Little (drums)
Scott
Carlson (vocals)
Review:
We
begin our journey as a fly-on-the-wall spectator hiding in a closet
and watching with wide-eyes as a notorious killer goes about his
morning business of breakfast and bludgeoning. Opening track, ‘The
Hell Benders’ eases us in with a warm, bluesy bass lick adorned
with easy-going guitar and psychotropic synth. This audible
wake-and-bake only masks the stench of death for so long before an
ominous silhouette appears at the door and drags us into the
basement, flailing in terror as the deafening roar of a full blown
Sabb-a-thon pushes its grubby fingers into our wounds and hungrily
violates our senses. Mikami and his new band of savages have clearly
been drinking from the fountain of groove throughout the conception
of this lumbering, great record and Carlson’s lyrics read like the
secret journal of Peter Sutcliffe; leaving no doubt as to the grisly
inspiration behind each killer track.
Some
stand out songs for me include, ‘Doctor Death’ which features the
most satisfying use of the word ‘yeah’ that I have ever heard.
Seriously, it is now my message alert tone. This perverse explosion
of sordid groove-porn should have you swinging your little noggin
around all over the place in frenzied delight. Track 4, ‘River
Demon’ encapsulates everything that I love about 70’s era Black
Sabbath. Szulkin seems to slow time with his tasteful, intoxicating
lead work and is complemented perfectly by Little’s chilled,
rhythmic pacing. By the time Carlson celebrated the superb jam with a
well-grounded “All right!”, I had already grown a full-on handle
bar moustache and occultist symbols had mysteriously manifested in my
cereal. Another great tune is the reposeful ‘Suicide Journey’.
Personally I really enjoy these super-mellow interlude tracks,
especially when they set the mood for an addition to the album such
as the sluggish and sonorous, ‘Murderfreak Blues’. Just when you
think you’ve had all of the closed-eye, grimace inducing, slow head
bang action that you can handle this wanton sleaze-fest grabs you by
the hair and forces your delirious dome up and down once more.
Church
Of Misery are pretty outspoken when it comes to their feelings about
certain labels often attributed to their classic doom sound, so I’ve
respectfully tried to avoid using such terms. In conclusion what I
will say is this; ‘And Then There Were None’ is a fleshy,
foul-smelling, black-hearted bastard of a record with a relentless
appetite for filth and a blood-soiled arsenal of tools with which the
band show no reservations about using. If you do just one thing on
March 4th, then make sure that you check out this glorious album. If
Doctor Death doesn’t make you bang your head and piss your pants at
the same time then I’ll eat shit and smile doing it.
Favourite
track: Doctor Death
Words
by ThisHairyGuy
And
Then There Were None will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl fromRise Above Records from March 4th 2016.
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