EP REVIEW: Nyarlathotep – Estuarine

Avant-garde grindcore isn’t a genre you’d ever really expect to exist. But alas, as big as the internet is and also the fact that weirder things will still happen in the space it takes you to read this review, it seems ESTUARINE have found a viable niche for themselves to writhe around. Since their initial debut in 2013 ESTUARINE have been jumping from sound to sound and experimenting with each accordingly, releasing a series of thunderously heavy and really rather creative albums that seemed to set this band up as a real answer to those who like their music strange yet also abruptly heavy. 

Now whilst even the label of EP might be generous for ESTRUARINE’s latest release, there is a real eldritch, primal nature to Nyarlathotep, which is a really good thing considering it’s namesake. The nine minute musical assault smashes through eight songs with furious pace and makes the release an exhilarating listen from start to finish, with the vibrant musical palette making it a pretty enjoyable, if not entirely strange, ride. The explosive opener Crawling Chaos does a good job at riding the line of standard grindcore before descending into abject carnage within the first 30 seconds. The fusion of old school death metal and blistering speed make a really interesting sound and ESTUARINE are keen to see how far they can take it, as Carriers of Shadow picks up immediately where the first track left off. 

Nyarlathotep is certainly paced exceptionally well. Each track feeds into the next and the sense of descending through a H.P Lovecraft inspired nightmare is incredibly tangible. When Hooves of Madness kicks in with its proggy bass line before the other worldly synth noises begin to speak as though as old one themselves, it creates a wonderful and vibrant listening experience that seems to almost benefit from its cramped run time. The vicious fever dream of a musical experience is supposed to make you question what in the ever loving fuck is actually going on, and by the time you finish asking the question it’s all over.

There are definitely arguments to be had about the length of songs on offer here, especially when compared to the offerings on previously released. And with compositions like The Audient Void and it’s trailing conclusion that definitely feels like a wistful idea as compared to real songs, the argument definitely feels worth having. There is definitely a different skill set applied when writing shorter songs, and being able to compact every musical idea into a 60 second explosion takes real skill to do well.

For the most part, Nyarlathotep does manage to compress a lot of musical expression into a very short period of time, but where WORMROT, WVRM, and NAPALM DEATH have all been able to do this over records spanning 40 minutes, the lightning flash length of Nyarlathotep adds a new dimension to whether you really appreciate this style of music or not. 

Considering the release as a whole, there is a lot to appreciate here. The musical oddity of tracks likes Hooves… next to sheer raging behemoths like Crawling Chaos makes Nyarlathotep a diverse experience and one that does well to encapsulate the terrifying fear of H.P Lovecraft in a way few have been able to achieve. But despite the arty, conceptual side of things, it’s difficult to deny the vastly different approach ESTUARINE have taken on this album compared to their lengthy previous outings and wonder what spurred the massive change. If you want something bite size and full of razor blades though, you need not look any further. 

Rating: 7/10

Nyarlathotep is out now via self-release.

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