ALBUM REVIEW: Sulphur English – Inter Arma
INTER ARMA, a quintet from Richmond, Virginia are no strangers to lengthy tracks, with the vast majority of their back catalogue hitting the six-to-ten minute mark, if not longer. Their fourth full-length, Sulphur English, is no exception to that rule, excluding the intro and interlude they span from nearly seven minutes up to nearly 13 minutes and pushes the one hour mark to 66 minutes. But is the newest offering from INTER ARMA an epic musical journey, or a plodding meander that desperately needs cutting down?
Instrumental opener Bumgardner, a tribute to the late INDIAN and LORD MANTIS drummer Bill Bumgardner, who sadly took his own life in 2016, ascends from a gentle beginning up to a cacophony of hellish feedback noise and rumbling drums and breaks into A Waxen Sea which starts slightly progressive with an almost MASTODON feel but quickly sheds that skin and explodes into brutal blackened death. It’s a slog through chugging duelling guitar riffs from Steven Russel and Trey Dalton with heavy pounding bass lines from Andrew Lacour, inhumane low monstrous growls from vocalist Mike Paparo over thunderous drumming peppered with almost jazzy sounding cymbals from powerhouse drumming machine T.J Childers. Expertly toying with the tempo throughout in general slow drums and chugging guitars mix with slow and fast lo-fi blackened tones and steady blast beats.
Citadel is probably the most brutish song INTER ARMA have released in their career so far, harnessing a more old-school death metal feel complete with drawn out low growls over intermittent screaming guitar solos on top of trudging bass riffs and double pedal blast beats with slowed down crashing cymbals. After the conclusion of the magically layered drums and mixed up tempos the primitive almost dual sounding drumming at the beginning and end of Howling Lands is a poignant contrast, cleaner echoing vocals bring about another element in between anguished howls with a raw raspy edge and more, sometimes squealing, sometimes chugging guitar. The drumming is so complex and layered it’s possible that Childers is a magician that can actually clone himself to create the dynamic sound similar to that primitive dual drumming sound of KYLESA.
Like the eye of a raging storm the aptly named The Stillness breaks into mellow cleaner singing and acoustic country-style guitar which is reminiscent of BARONESS’s milder moments. Soaring vocals with stripped down powerful drumming and plenty of twiddly effects providing a moment of calm and there a moment of reprieve from the intense brutality that preceded and is probably bound to follow. The song builds to a powerful post/metal sludgy crescendo with a very NEUROSIS-esque feel to it. Developing layer by layer of piercing guitar riffs and crashing cymbals then lulling back to a gentle acoustic sound before an interlude of eerie atmospheric piano on top of lots of feedback and effects in Observances Of The Path.
The anticipated chaos ensues in the highlight and longest track on the album The Atavists Meridian which has a long instrumental intro of a complicated concoction of discordant slightly off-kilter guitar rhythm and more playfully jazzy cymbals and technical drum fills. Some seriously dirty demonic vocals kick in at just over the two minute mark, and the track continues along a similar pace following an ebb and flow of sheer brutality displaying an impressive approach to harmony and modulation.
Following on with the slowed down crawling along atmospheric NEUROSIS vibe Blood On The Lupines begins with deep Nick Cave-esque vocals and haunting off tune slow lo-fi guitar with the occasional classical metal guitar riff mixed in backed up with slowly crashing cymbals and off beats with a synthy, creepy backing track behind it all building up to a harsher bellows louder riffs and heavier drumming. Finally album cover track and another sure highlight, Sulphur English unapologetically explodes into life with relentless drumming getting faster and faster alongside speedy blackened riffage and dissonant fiercely undulating scaling. Ferocious growls kick in and build up to evil sounding snarls once again showing off Paparo’s fantastic vocal range and the whole things reaches a monolithic crescendo like a cacophony of chaotic noise all coming together with the final brutal assault to the senses that this album has slowing been crawling and lurching towards
In some ways Sulphur English is a lot more subtle than the massive variety displayed in Paradise Gallows which seamlessly wove sludge, doom, black death and a healthy dose of progressive metal into a wonderfully experimental tapestry with incredible precision and perfect flow. Sulphur English is perhaps more of a consistent dense and intense slow burner which heats up and cools down at times with experimental nuances but overall it’s a much harsher hard-hitting blackened death/doom sound and is more of a nod back to the heavier Sky Burial. It might take several listens to truly appreciate the sheer craftsmanship from each member of INTER ARMA, which causes this slow burner to mercilessly rage on much like the band themselves who truly deserve much more recognition, hopefully this is what finally does it for them.
Rating: 9/10
Sulphur English is out now via Relapse Records.
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