FULL OF HELL - Trumpeting Ecstasy

Recently I witnessed a 'true cvlt' Black Metal internet warrior venting his frustration about how others could take pleasure in the same hateful music as he, while not agreeing with its message aesthetically. Poor thing not understanding that it is quite acceptable, and quite civilised, going through life wishing plague on every house while still believing in refugee aid and eating vegan for ethical reasons.
Trumpeting Ecstasy epitomises this human condition. The album being a fierce blast of nihilism, this hope crushing harbinger of death is undeniably created and driven by the joy of life surging in the hearts and minds of the individuals that together are Full of Hell. Still this album feels like a statement of contempt for our world, and I haven't even read the lyrics yet.
Musically, my initial thought was that "Trumpeting Ecstasy" was so harsh that the untrained ear could mistake it for industrial noise. But after the first hair-raising adrenaline bliss, deeper listening takes heed and you hear historical metal riffs the kids dedicated their lives to early on, but in their hands are disfigured through manipulation by speed and brutality.
The band's love of harsh noise is here less visible than on their previous Full of Hell & Merzbow colab LP, but it is still an important part of what makes Full of Hell unique among the underground hordes trumpeting the ecstatic filth of our crumbling civilisation.
- Sigurdur Hávaðaseggur


Ah, Full Of Hell. What can I say that hasn't been said before? That they have come full circle and are back to a simpler approach to unleashing brutality? I can tell you that it makes sense that in 2017 Full Of Hell has scaled back and stripped down to the bear essentials. And what does that mean? Context, please.
Well, with something like 25 releases to their name they either went the Agathocles way of releasing stuff that could be categorised "much of the same" from one item to the next, or they pull Unholy Grave on us by expanding their sound, releasing splits with a dynamic range of artists, experimenting and to a much further extent collaborating with other visionaries (see: Merzbow and The Body). The latter applied. That's a a lot of material. Producing music at this clip is demanding and you can only go so far before you need to step away from the vehicle, retrace your steps and load up again. And that is what Full Of Hell does on Trumpeting Ecstasy, yet, never rehashing the past or meandering old ideas. This is not a lazy album, nor is it safe.

As you would expect from my ramblings above, the album explodes to life with "Deluminate," (listen) a nitro infusion of grindcore and the most sped up darkened hardcore of the meanest variety. Utterly brutal. And this really is the template of the onslaught that is unleashed upon the listener. It's almost Full Of Hell saying: You took this much art, it's time to murder people again. And that they do.
This barrage of clashing ideas that echo the very best in the death metal and grindcore cannon of yore comes crashing with such command and focus, one almost feels sorry for most other bands that we fit under the same umbrella.I mean, there are moments of Sounds Of The Animal Kingdom-era Brutal Truth on steroids. This is the stuff the old legends wish they could pull of, but they cannot.  Such is the zest, aggression and resolve Full Of Hell emits.
Just when you think you figured this album out the boys inject a song with that "something" else that sets them apart from their contemporaries. Cases in point being "Crawling Back to God" (spot the riff-nod to Deicide ala "Lunatic Of Gods Creation"), "Fractured Quartz," "Ashen Mesh" and the slow and hellish titled track, closing the album.

This is Full Of Hell as clean-cut as you'll ever hear them. First half of the album is almost uniform in its blistering nastiness and the second half veers slightly to the left with the most subtle drops of exotic oils and jarring spices. It's the one-two fuck you punch heard around the word: We know what we are and we can still peel flesh from your bones using our most simple and trusted tools. Back to form, sure. Back in hell, absolutely.
- Birkir Fjalar 



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