ALBUM REVIEW: To Rid Myself Of Truth – Signs Of The Swarm
On album number six, SIGNS OF THE SWARM have taken influence from their previous album and have embraced the more chaotic side of deathcore to create a stomach-churning affair. To Rid Myself Of Truth is much more than chaos however. It’s scars being torn open and unleashing ones inner feelings. And that’s where we’re greeted with the title track. Not with a small interlude, but with a bang. The guitar of Carl Shulz ringing throughout the track as vocalist David Simonich growls and froths. An interesting opener as it’s a slower more dense track that does gain speed toward the end but keeps it at a pace that makes you wonder if it’s the continuous speed they’ll keep.
Then HELLMUSTFEARME bludgeons your brains with Bobby Crow’s blast beats and double bass attack with Simonich producing some utter lacerating vocals in the lower register of his growls. When speaking about unleashing inner feelings across the album, HELLMUSTFEARME is the most direct. Lyrically it’s about how much of a “piece of shit” Simonich thinks he is. Entwine that with the furious fretwork of Schulz and Michael Cassese’s fiery bass tone, and HELLMUSTFEARME is a monstrous song.
On To Rid Myself Of Truth, Schulz has integrated more complex guitar work. Forced To Forget and Natural Selection are both the most complex guitar songs on the record. The melodies conflicting with the gritty harsher tones of the guitar combine beautifully in a hurricane of brutality. While it’s hidden behind the vocals, Casseses’ bass flourishes on Sarkazein that rumbles your very core that makes it hit harder when that vicious break down ends with laser noises toward the ending of the track.
It’s not just sheer aggression that fuels the album, we’re also treated to a few guest appearances. LORNA SHORE’s Will Ramos shares vocal duty on Clouded Rentas which opens up about Simonichs’ degenerative eye disease. Iron Sacrament features WHITECHAPEL‘s Phil Bozeman which is about a meaningless murderous romp from the perspective of the attacker. And finally, Fear & Judgement features a duel vocal guest spot from Jack Murray of 156/SILENCE and Johnny Crowder from PRISON creating a acidic three-way collaboration which elevates the track to new heights.
It’s quite rare to get a deathcore album that’s both equal parts horrendously perverse and frighteningly beautiful. But SIGNS OF THE SWARM have combined modern deathcore with their older material and branched out into various other genres while simultaneously opening their chest and being vulnerable as possible. There’s very little like this album out there, and that’s what makes To Rid Myself Of Truth so passionately crafted. It’s an all out ride through the depths of hell and the high heavens.
Rating: 8/10
To Rid Myself Of Truth is set for release August 22nd via Century Media.
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