ALBUM REVIEW: Running Out Of Time Doing Nothing – The Meads Of Asphodel
THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL are one of the UK’s most eclectic, imaginative and bizarre bands, not just in terms of extreme metal, but arguably music as a whole. Pushing the boundaries of metal music for the past 21 years, the band have produced some truly great, and thoroughly demented, music. Their latest, sixth full length, Running Out Of Time Doing Nothing comes six years after their last record, Sonderkommando, and proves to be yet another avant-gard masterpiece, and well worth the wait.
Bug Splat, an incredibly atmospheric song with a solid electronic influence, is a short shock of energetic and visceral black metal with plenty of aggressive vocals, dark, grating guitars and tight drumming, which acts as a brief yet brilliant introduction to the record. I Am Oblivion, Deep Drenched In Forever, initially starting life as a fairly subdued track with great vocal deliveries, slowly but surely begins to shift into a more intense and powerful affair. There’s lots of excellent, keyboard driven motifs, acoustic guitar flourishes and sharp, discordant guitars which counterpoint the decidedly sublime approach of the majority of the rest of the song, making for a track that is in equal parts relaxing and fierce. Running Out Of Time Doing Nothing‘s third, titular track is a more robust, dense track with thick, chugging thrash elements that gives way to slick, soaring lead melodies that complement the harsh quality of the vocals and the thunderous, primitive drumming perfectly. It’s a great song with some brilliant guitar hooks, which stands as one of the early highlights of the record.
Black Is Black & White Is White is a far more fluid offering, with everything from the vocals to the drumming taking on more of a free form jazz feel, before diving headlong into an oppressively huge and monolithic passage which is far more rooted in extreme metal, its musical approach definitely reflecting the songs title. The song ebbs and flows between these more measured, sanguine moments and the much more vicious parts seamlessly, keeping the track interesting from the first note to the last. After the relatively straight forward, yet catchy approach of Cockroach Marionettes, I Stood Tiptoe, Reaching Up For Heaven is another short but memorable piece of music,which makes liberal use of samples and a great, techno sound which backs a politically charged message. It’s a great way to break the album up, and allow the vocals to take centre stage and carry the song at many points, the dark and bleak lyrics contrasting sharply with the uplifting and catchy nature of the music itself.
Like Blood Shaped Flakes Of Snow brings in eerie, hair raising female vocals, which work extremely well with the more frenzied nature of the sound really well, and proves to be one of the stand out elements of a fairly straight forward and forgettable track. The Broken Wings Of A Hud-Hud is a brief yet brilliant aural assault, which incorporates some more of those excellent vocals, with this and some well placed, uplifting keyboard sections adding some light and warmth into a dark and aggressive, guitar driven affair and creating a contrast that ultimately makes for a solid and impressive track. Funeral Drums Of Insomnia’s Labyrinth is a bleak, melancholic number that utilises haunting ambience and sonorous percussion to great effect, slowly building a grim and foreboding atmosphere. Metatron‘s harsh, snarling vocal lines carve through the mix like a rusty knife and add some emotive weight to the track. It’s a great change of pace from the last few songs, and sets the listener up for the final offerings with aplomb.
Recollections of a Hand Loom-Weaver ties epic keyboards and acoustic guitar hooks together into what proves to be a sprawling, grandiose song with some nice, off kilter sections that work well and inject a slight folk rock element into the sound that separates this song from many that have come before it, providing an excellent track with a few virtuoso flourishes peppered throughout to set the listener up for the albums final track, Souvenir Of Death; this song is initially vicious, with a tight, compressed sound, before settling into a far more subdued, jazzy track with that allows the vocals to take centre stage once again, surrounded by intricate guitars and disjointed keyboards, gradually heading towards more sublime, monumental motif, which comes to an end quite abruptly, bringing the album to a sudden, glorious end.
As you’d expect from THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL, this is not a by the numbers, straight forward record. Weaving great atmospherics and interesting motifs in among the more visceral and grating extreme metal elements within the sound, without sacrificing the murky and low-fi production at any point. Unlike some experimental acts like SIGH, none of the progressive aspects within the sound seem forced or unnecessary, and adds plenty of depth to the record, making the whole of this hour plus record thoroughly engrossing from start to finish. Running Out Of Time Doing Nothing is yet another brilliant, eclectic record from THE MEADS OF ASPHODEL, who have made a long and storied career out of making some of the most truly unique music within extreme metal.
Rating: 8/10
Running Out Of Time Doing Nothing is set for release June 21st via Godreah Records.
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