ALBUM REVIEW: Moirae – Hell Is Other People
The term ‘post-black metal’ is likely to conjure up an image for fans of black metal as a whole; huge, sweeping atmospheres, heady ambience and a lighter, cleaner approach to guitars has helped to give this musical offshoot a distinct edge over more played out and tired styles within the genre, but the scope and expectations of its sound are well established in most listeners minds. HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE do employ a lot of the immersive and cavernous elements of Post-black metal across their records, especially their debut album, 2017’s Embrace, but they pair these tried and tested elements with intense musicianship and a harder, sinister side that makes their music stand apart from many of their peers.
Their latest album, Moirae, is yet another great example of this, and sees HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE tighten up their already muscular and monolithic sound to create something that will hopefully alter the way people look at this brand of extremity.
This album starts on a strong note with Moirae, a track that couples huge rhythmic guitars, thunderous drums and impenetrable gutturals to create a soaring sound that is nonetheless cavernous and imposing, with the lighter, melodic leads and intricate drumming contrasting sharply with angular, ferocious bursts of belligerence and caustic vocal lines that add even more depth to this already imposing sound. Fates adopts a steadier and thicker sound that, with its heavier guitars and measured drums, applies a hard rock approach to songwriting to the post-black metal mould, allowing for more prominent hooks and chaotic passages.
Degrade departs almost entirely from the more black metal orientated approach of the two songs that preceded it and amplifies the underlying post-rock side of the HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE sound, with crystalline guitar tones and a spartan, airy style of playing immediately drawing the listener in, before the meatier bulk of the song kicks into full gear, with a driving beat, dense, hazy guitar work and bellowing, bellicose vocals shifting to a harsher sound. With the music changing between these two musical extremes as it progresses, again developing something significantly more wide-ranging and grand than a straight black metal track would have.
Loss embraces a more jagged and jarring kind of distortion and faster tempos in order to make an offering that is decidedly more forceful and abrasive, a change that works especially well with the searing vocals and frenetic drums. The sort of gentler, expansive post-rock sound that has underpinned all of these songs is still there as a musical backbone, but the grating, darker sound transforms this into one of the more visceral and punishing efforts on the album, leaning prominently into the dirtier elements of a black metal sound without fully succumbing to it.
Atropos, the final, monolithic track on this record, draws heavily from this albums more atmospheric tendencies in order to make it sound as magnificent as it can be. Although the more monotonous guitar work returns, creating a more engrossing edge that works well at points, the focal point of much of this are the more frenzied and inventive leads, which begin to incorporate subtle discordance as well as polished melodicism and warm ambience, with one bleeding seamlessly into the next, covering the whole spectrum of styles that has featured across this album and resulting in perhaps the most imaginative and bombastic affair on the whole album.
Although this album draws heavily from black metal’s more atmospheric side for much of its core sound, it’s a lot more effective at creating a hypnotic sound than records of a similar style, incorporating a lot of great hooks and intricate musical touches and chaotic bursts of energy at various points to make sure that ensure that it has a fully fleshed out and forceful sound.
Between these harsher, aggressive sections and polished, soaring post-rock ambience, Moirae makes full use of its expansive, lengthy songs and makes sure that each individual track possesses more ideas than some bands fit into entire records. Couple this with a much more pristine production than the hazier quality of Embrace, and HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE have managed to craft easily their best record to date, and providing a hopefully hint at the band’s musical future.
Rating: 8/10
Moirae is out now via Transcending Obscurity Records.
Like HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE on Facebook.