ALBUM REVIEW: All We Have Is Never – Holy Scum

All We Have Is Never, is the brilliant second album from HOLY SCUM, and the band’s noise laden industrialised post-punk is still acting as an all out aural assault, assuringly sounding like the end of the world in doing so. HOLY SCUM are made up of members of the storied talents of GNOD, DÄLEK, ACTION BEAT and GHOLD, and All We Have Is Never (which was tellingly recorded on The Isle Of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, giving it a remote and solitary vibe throughout) sounds like a statement of intent and is delivered with grit, passion and an ultimate goal in  using music as a weapon, a goal that it succeeds in doing so perfectly.

A dreamlike intro on opening number Waves Of Laughter, one that sounds like a blanket of calm, opens All We Have Is Never and soon lures you into a false sense of security, one which you are unprepared for and soon descends into a barrage of apocalyptic noise that you are left helpless to do nothing but fall into the horror of the music of HOLY SCUM. From then on the pummelling nature of the bands music is utterly relentless with post-punk arch provocateurs Killing Joke being a massive influence on the sound (especially with the razor sharp basslines) and nihilistic outlook of HOLY SCUM, especially on a song like Trying In Hell. 

There is an eclectic combination of sonic explorations going on here as well such as the kaleidoscopic and truly hypnotic brilliance of Liar colliding into the caustic simplicity of I Am The Land before the caustic industrial punk of Witches puts you under a spell with its catchy nature and Assembly of Sonic Agitators is littered with such varied soundscapes.

The album continues to creep with more of those menacing soundscapes, the crawling beauty of Just Tell Me How It Ends and the dizzying Faces are highlights before it ends on an epic note with the almost nine minute epic Like December, a fine way to end things with its noise laden mix of harsh electronics and warped rhythms, and does so in a hellish fashion , dragging the listener to the very depths of hell as it does so, and ends this journey on a brilliantly downbeat manner.

Fans of bands like GODFLESH, SWANS, VOIVOD and MINISTRY will find lot to love here as the industrialised noise that HOLY SCUM bring is unrelenting like those artists, but this combined with the bands bleak post-punk ferocity and vast soundscapes gives them an extra edge and with that huge KILLING JOKE influence makes it extra essential.

This is music for the end times and HOLY SCUM have it soundtracked perfectly with All We Have Is Never, an excellent album that sounds perfectly at home revelling in its bleak nature and feeling utterly unapologetic in doing so, and even with that, there is still a certain beauty in the music, with it being hopeful and hopeless in equal measures. 

Rating: 8/10

All We Have Is Never is out now via Rocket Recordings.

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