FULL OF HELL - Full of Hell & Merzbow

When I first heard Anal Cunt's 5643 track EP I joked to friends about looking forward to when this would be called pop music. This is not a joke anymore. The new extreme is the unholy marriage of extreme hardcore and metal and industrial noise. Full of Hell have put themselves on the frontline of this "genre" with their collaborative album with long time going noise artist Merzbow.

The soundtrack to swallowing scrap metal does not always make sense, but with a thick layer of Full of Hell, it makes perfect sense. The first album opens with three extremely well executed one minute grind tracks. At first listening that's all I heard and I missed the nihilistic angst that probably keeps the band together, but not to worry. Take this like the intro into the uncivilized frustration made music that is Full of Hell and witness the Merzbow effect creep in more and more until you, in "Ljudet of Gud", sense the creeping death of some murderous Lovecraftian deity approaching with malicious intent.

Let's be clear on one thing, the Merzbow noise parts of this album are not fillers for Full of Hell tracks. This is a collaboration album. With deeper listening I hear and feel the uglyness that the Merzbow effect has only deepened in Full of Hell's songwriting.
Album two is, like the punks themselves explained in a interview, 70% Merzbow. Personally I have only enjoyed listening to Merzbow collaborations with other possessed artists like Nordvargr (it is impossible to keep track of Merzbow releases) and this is the best Merzbow release so far. The rythms are haunting, the noise layers howling.

I compared those tracks to genres like ritual ambient but then the ritual ambient is just drama and this is sountrack to rituals of those who have nothing to live for and nothing to loose. Take the thirteen minute long "Litany of Desire", hypnotising in its repetitiveness and captivating in how manic it is. There are comparisons with Tribes of Neurot but this is far more schizophrenic (with full respect for schizophrenics).

With this album Full of Hell have widened the musical horizon of many hardcore and metal kids. Thank you. [Profound Lore]
- Sigurður Harðarson
The Ed: This is part one of a split review that I decided to divide into two separate posts. Part to will be published when life allows.





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