MAKE - Pilgrimage Of Loathing (Album Review)

Release date: July 15th 2016. Label: Accident Prone Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

Pilgrimage of Loathing – Tracklisting

1.The Somnambulist

2.Birthed Into A Grave They Made For You

3.Two Hawks Fucking

4.Human Garbage

5.Dirt (Stooges Cover)

6.Nothing

Band Members:

Scott Endres - Guitar, Vocals, Synthesizers

Spencer Lee - Bass, Vocals, Guitar, Rhodes, Percussion

Luke Herbst - Drums, Vocals

Review:

Make are a new name to me, but within just the first few seconds of the opening riff to album opener "The Somnambulist" they made a big impression on me. Ushered in on a lone guitar drenched in effects and some tribal tom work in the background,that builds into a crescendo as the song kicks in, in earnest after about the minute mark.

Walls of guitar and bone rattling bass explode in an almost progressive but very aggressive Black Metal style. I had to double check just to make sure that Make aren't Scandinavian. They aren't....

The vocals are like nothing else I've heard in a very long time. Guttural and full of depth one minute then harsh and soaring the next, before at the half way mark the distortion of the guitars is replaced by a haunting clean section, and the harsh vocals are replaced with some astonishingly beautiful, rich clean vocals, before everything kicks back in and before you know it we're at the outro of the song with it's bellowed vocal refrain of "You, you were wrong"

2nd track "Birthed Into A Grave They Made For You" is at one time a similar affair, but all together very different. Similar in as much as all the previous elements are still there, anguished vocals, cutting guitars, and a disgusting bass tone, but all delivered in quite a different style. The track starts in an almost jaunty, angular fashion, before descending into Black Metal, Doom, Sludge chaos. And it's simply magnificent.

3rd track, that wonderfully named "Two Hawks Fucking" gives us something quite different to mark the halfway point of the record. Clean, and eerie guitars, complimented by possibly an organ of some kind and swathes of reverb. The song just gently glides through it's five minute run time, giving you a chance to catch your breath after the hostility of the previous two tracks.

Next "Human Garbage" which flies out of the speakers faster than England can go out of a major football tournament, before the pace slows once again on the sublime and penultimate track "Dirt"

A lone drum heralds the start, and then the guitars, bass and vocals eek their way in, before Make arrive at what I guess is the chorus, where those delicious clean vocals make another appearance, this time doubled with the harsh vocals, that feature throughout the record, bellowing out the sinister vocal "Do you feel it, do you feel it when you touch me"

Genuinely haunting and powerful at the same time.

Final track "Nothing" is as strong as any other album closer I can recall in recent times. More progressive sounding guitar work, and a final outing for those magnificent clean vocals, ease the listener in, and build the tension as we wait for the inevitable moment that Make unleash the riffs again.

And unleash them they do, but in a slightly more controlled fashion, than throughout the proceeding tracks. A stubborn and repetitive riff marks the halfway point of the final track, punctuated by a slightly discordant guitar in the background, before a slight lull and we're back into the full harrowing Make experience. The track continues to build until right until it's final moments as the pedals are switched off and the tempo slows down and the song fades away on one final note.

In the few short weeks, that I have lived with this album, it's hit me in the head, heart and gut and made itself essential listening.

I count myself as extremely fortunate to be able to write these reviews, as every now and then you get the chance to discover something, that's new, exciting, challenging and all consuming. Get this record. And play it. Play it loud, play it often and play it to everyone as this truly is a record that deserves to be heard by as many folks as possible.

Words by Simon Ross Williams

Thanks to Darren at Post-PR for the promo. Pilgrimage Of Loathing will be available to buy from Accident Prone Records on DD/Vinyl from July 15^th 2016.

Links:

 Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter

MAKE - The Golden Veil (Album Review)

Release date: July 17th 2015. Label: Self Released. Formats: DD/Vinyl

The Golden Veil: Tracklisting

1.I Was Sitting Quietly, Peeling Back My Skin 04:04

2.Breathe 08:41

3.The Immortal 07:02

4.We Are Coiled ** 04:57

5.The Absurdist 07:27

6.The Architect 11:12

7.In the Final Moments, Uncoiling ** 08:33

Band Members:

Scott Endres - guitar, synthesizers, vocals

Spencer Lee - bass, vocals

Matt Stevenson - drums, beats

Review:

MAKE return with their 2nd full length album – The Golden Veil. The Golden Veil is a very different album to Trephine with the band focusing more on harsher environments with a more experimental vibe. If you‘re a fan of Trephine you’ll find a lot to admire here. As MAKE continue creating another epic musical Sludge/Post-Metal journey for you to immerse yourself with.

Opening track – I Was Sitting Quietly, Peeling Back My Skin – opens with pounding and ambient driven noises slowly appearing in the background. A slowly played acoustic guitar feels like a warning that something dangerous is coming your way as the song quietly ends in the background with industrial atmospherics leaving you wanting more.

Second track – Breathe – offers a more familiar sound from MAKE as the Post-Metal atmospherics appear to continue the epic riffs that feel they’ve originated from Trephine. The post-rock theatrics blend superbly with the death based growls as MAKE their appearance known. MAKE have added a twisted style of Psychedelic Sludge Metal as it has a sheer scale of menace with intelligence to match.

Third song – The Immortal – continues the cinematic post-rock theatrics with lead vocalist Scott offering a more haunting outlook on life. The music starts at a slow pace but slowly builds to loud volumes that should have fans of Neurosis happy for the next 7 mins or so. The music is complex through out as MAKE have written lyrics that have a hidden depth of emotion to them. The final few minutes of the song sees MAKE unleash epic and heavy progressive riffs that will leave you in a bleak mood.

Fourth Track – We Are Coiled – is an instrumental ambient/post rock driven affair with the band opting for a “Less Is More” approach as the Sludge/Post-Metal riffs are kept to a minimum. This song could have come from Scott’s solo project – The Pod. The ambient noises and effects drive this song to its natural conclusion of peace and solitude.

Fifth Track – The Absurdist – opens with another Post-Rock interlude with delicate guitars played against the intelligent drumming and Scott’s clean based vocals offering a more surreal slice of music for you to experience. MAKE finally unleash heck on earth towards the end of the song with thunderous post-metal riffs and it comes at the right time. As the album has remained fairly silent for so long that and it’s good to see MAKE finally return to the early mood of the album where the mood was violent and destructive to the very end. The song ends without a word of warning and you’re plunged back into the almost silent post-rock driven world.

For the sixth track – The Architect – MAKE play slow-paced guitars with ambient noises offering a more drone based atmosphere compared to the other songs. It’s the longest song on the album at 11 mins and it’s a song that can be classed as two halves. The first half being – Ambient/Drone Post Rock and the second being the nightmarish Sludge/Post-Metal well almost Post-Black Metal as the brutal vocals take things into another direction. MAKE continue experimenting with sonic based noises and rhythms as The Architect firmly leaves a lasting impression on you.

The final track – In the Final Moments, Uncoiling – captures the full tone of the album perfectly. Ambient/Post-Rock noises matched against the heavier and more disturbing Sludge/Post-Metal/Doom & Gloom theatrics. It sees MAKE venture into the realm that Godflesh perfected many years ago. It’s to the bands credit this song whilst mostly bleak, offers a sense of hope and optimism with the haunting riffs that are played in the background.

Looking back on this album, MAKE have created something very different to Trephine and that’s a good thing. It maybe more Ambient/Post-Rock orientated to Trephine but it doesn’t stop The Golden Veil becoming slightly more dangerous and even more adventurous than their celebrated debut album. The Golden Veil is already starting to win these guys major acclaim and it’s not hard to see why. The Golden Veil is a challenging and even frustrating album to listen to at times but there’s no denying it’s a powerful statement of intent from one of the rising stars of the Sludge/Post-Metal world.

Thanks to MAKE for the promo. The Golden Veil is out to buy now on DD/Vinyl.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp