ALBUM REVIEW: Compelled to Repeat – Beggar
Metal can sometimes be the thinking mans genre. Even the most extreme variety of grindcore can have moments of genuine class and depth to them, as NAPALM DEATH proved in the 80s and PIG DESTROYER continued to prove throughout the 2000s. With the breadth that simply being ‘extreme’ gives you, there is plenty of thematic and musical inspiration that can create not only a tonally abusive record, but also one that flexes the gray matter whilst you listen to it. Bristol born BEGGAR are such a band.
With an affinity for anything heavy, fast, and loud, the band have spent nearly the past decade refining their sound and preparing to make their move towards becoming a more full time unit. With Compelled to Repeat their first official debut after the band formed back in 2011, BEGGAR are keen to make the biggest impact possible and take the best foot forward into the next stage of their career. That is, until the world began to crumble like wet cake and we were all forced to recluse into our homes.
Oddly enough, the very existence in a city like London and its suffocating atmospheres of hustle and bustle are something that play a huge role in Compelled to Repeat. Along with the themes of repressed trauma rising to the surface thanks to the human condition being, well, compelled to repeat its past mistakes, this thematic depth is coupled together with a sludgy and grinding musical scaffold that all comes together to create something genuinely worth getting very excited about. The album kicks off with Blood Moon, and a nasty punk riff that eventually opens into a lumbering groove, all fronted by some of the most wretched vocals this side of HANG THE BASTARD’s fantastic Sex In The Seventh Circle.
BEGGAR utilise the breadth and depth of extreme music with such ease that it simply shows that the time the and have taken to get to this point has not been misused. Where tracks like The Cadaver Speaks sound like stoner metal if Satan himself wanted to make it, Tenantless The Graves writhes and strikes out like some of the best death metal out there. Throughout Compelled To Repeat the band really try and fuse as much as they can into the music whilst still remaining smooth and natural. Nothing feels out of place here, except for the 24 second interlude track that genuinely brings nothing to the party except an additional track listing.
In terms of themes, alongside the depressing idea of being doomed to re-tread dead ground, Anaesthete delves into the incessant need for relief in a world of horror and disgust. A constant return to addiction or the like to simply return to a functional state of being. The human condition is under a red tinged microscope of hatred here, and it provides an album not only filled with musical variety, but with lyrics that have substance and relevance to the world we live in today.
The time it has taken for BEGGAR to write, produce, record, and release Compelled to Repeat hasn’t been taken for granted. This is a fully formed record by a band who know what they want to say, how to say it, and have some killer riffs to deliver the message. For anyone who was disappointed by the revival of IRON MONKEY, or the untimely death of HANG THE BASTARD, this is a record for you. For anyone that’s a fan of sheer heft when it comes to their music, and don’t mind a little bit of reading during their downtime. It’s a shame that BEGGAR have been denied the chance to deliver this album in the live environment, because by the sounds of Compelled to Repeat, BEGGAR could well become one of the hottest bands on the scene right now.
Rating: 8/10
Compelled To Repeat is set for release on April 3rd via APF Records.
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