ALBUM REVIEW: Metempiric – Knoll
They say it’s best to strike when the iron’s hot, and KNOLL definitely seem to agree. Just a year and a bit on from the release of their scorching debut full-length Interstice, the Tennessee-based deathgrinders are back with the similarly sadistic Metempiric. They haven’t exactly sat around in the intervening months either; with two extensive tours now under their belts, and having also released a vicious little split EP with AUTOLITH last summer, it’s safe to say the wind is very much in the sextet’s favour at the moment. True to form then, Metempiric does plenty to add to this youthful band’s seemingly relentless momentum.
Coming so soon after Interstice, you might expect Metempiric to re-tread a lot of the same ground as its predecessor. Perhaps at first glance even, it does; that same oppressive intensity definitely remains, as does the sheer hair-raising brutality of it all. It’s on full display from the very first seconds of opener Clepsydra – a two-and-a-half-minute blast of the same kind of harrowing, dissonant deathgrind that drew many listeners to KNOLL in the first place. The guitars suffocate, the drums punish, and the vocals are utterly vile – all exactly as it should be then. There’s plenty more of this to follow too, with most of the tracks here delivered in similarly breathless runtimes.
That said though, it would be unfair to paint Metempiric as a total rehash of the band’s debut. Much like some of their more obvious reference points in the likes of FULL OF HELL and PIG DESTROYER, KNOLL have clearly sought to expand their sonic palette for this effort. One of the first and most notable examples of this arrives on the album’s third track Throe Of Upheaval. It’s still a nasty, grindy affair, but sees the band add some frenzied trumpet to proceedings which only increases the record’s sense of maniacal intensity. This appears again on the more interlude-like Dislimned, as well as the total bludgeoning of seventh track Tether And Swine – both evoking just about the most unwelcoming New Orleans jazz club of all time.
Beyond this, Metempiric also feels a little more dynamic than its predecessor. The aforementioned Dislimned is one example, but there’s also the sadistic ebb and flow of eighth track Of Troth To Atom and the abrasive, cavernous noise of The Dwelt Withe – both of which have the desired effect of sharpening the sense of violence which surrounds them. In the latter’s case, it sets up the frankly ridiculous groove of Whelm, a track which may well take the prize for being the record’s most crushing of all, which really is saying something.
It would also be remiss of us not to give at least a quick mention to vocalist James Eubanks. This next part might sound like a diss, but it really isn’t – his vocals are absolutely horrible. At points it’s hard to believe they’re even coming from a human at all, with his delivery ranging from banshee-like screams to disgustingly low gutturals seemingly as and when each is required of him. It adds that final layer of agony to the record, a sense of pure hatred that fits the music perfectly.
As Tome drags the album to an asphyxiating close, it’s clear the aforementioned iron has only grown hotter here. Metempiric manages to push the envelope significantly, while also holding onto pretty much everything we loved about Interstice. Crucially, all this is from a band who still fit the ‘college-age’ tag everyone obsessed over last year. To say the future is ‘bright’ for KNOLL may give you the wrong idea about just how nasty their music is, but it seems a fair bet that these guys could one day take the deathgrind crown should they continue on this powerful upwards trajectory.
Rating: 8/10
Metempiric is set for release on June 24th via self-release.
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