Maryland’s own Full of Hell has set the bar high this year with the release of Rudiments of Mutilation. Consisting of only four members, this band packs quite the sinister punch straight through your skull. Full of Hell creates their own sound, mixing elements of hardcore, grind, doom, powerviolence, noise and everything in between. If you’re looking for music that is unrelenting and angry, you’ve come to the right place.
The first four songs on Rudiments of Mutilation are extremely fast, showcasing the extremity that this band possesses. The album begins with “Dichotomy,” which is quite the introduction. The track starts off with an ear-piercing screech, followed with a menacing growl from vocalist Dylan Walker. Chaotic, sporadic drumming kicks in, foreshadowing what this album will be composed of. Following “Dichotomy” is “Vessel Deserted”; it’s fast and unrelenting – just what Full of Hell is capable of. This song also contains some slow, sludgy riffs, which showcases another sound that Full of Hell unleashes on us. I think this song deals with death, specifically the death of a friend. Without stopping, up next is “Coven of the Larynx,” and once again, this band goes all-out on this track. Next up is “Throbbing Lung Fiber,” which starts off incredibly fast. There is one word to describe this track, and that is menacing. The lyrics in this song are particularly brutal, such as “Cherub arms snap as laden boughs in the heat” and “Stagger in the wondrous smell of burning hair.” This song deals with death, but in a different way. Instead of mourning a loss, this song deals with the process of people dying in a fire. Full of Hell’s decision to start this album off at a vicious speed shows that they don’t wait to unleash their madness – they went straight for it and are quite successful, in my opinion.
The next three songs are at a slower pace than the first part of the album. As these songs carry through, they get slower and slower. “Indigence and Guilt” features some interesting blast beats, and is overall a solid song. “Embrace” is where the pace really slows down. Drummer Dave plays an ominous beat combined with Walker’s talking creates a very eerie feeling. Also, Skylar’s bass lines add to the uncanny rhythm of the song. To add to the eeriness, the lyrics give a feeling of hopelessness. Walker says “No meaning / No answers / No God left to save your soul / No meaning / No answers / The end.” Following “Embrace” is “The Lord is My Light,” which dives into the deep abyss of drone metal. Walker begins with regular talking, but soon unleashes his voice proclaiming “hatred grows.” I think this track shows Full of Hell exploring how slow and heavy they can get while still molding together elements of noise and drone. “Bone Coral and Brine” is up next, and this track starts off fast and in full-force. Soon enough, Dylan is back into talking with noise in the background, but only to pick up speed once again. I feel that this track has taken elements from every song on the album previously and molded them together. Next up is the title track, “Rudiments of Mutilation.” This song begins as a ridiculously fast, full-blown assault; Full of Hell holds nothing back on the beginning of this track. The song then slows down, and we hear some powerful, dark chords leading us into the last track, “In Contempt of Life.” This last song has a repetitive drum beat, with the sound of people whispering in the background, all put together with Dylan’s voice. As the song leads on, we hear an unnerving noise. Out of the depths of this noise we hear Walker give one last menacing yell, shouting, “A dead sun shatters,” leaving us at the end of the album. I think the way Full of Hell ended this album worked very well for them, as the ending is ominous and spine-chilling.
Full of Hell’s newest LP, Rudiments of Mutilation, can be summed up in several words: chaotic, brutal, menacing, raw, unrelenting and dark. Full of Hell was not afraid to go all-out on this album and explore and further solidify their sound. This album has more slower songs, than their previous LP and the lyrics are darker and more disturbing than ever. Full of Hell has once again managed to mix noise, hardcore, grindcore, black metal, powerviolence and everything in between to create one vicious, personal and relentless record. If you get the chance, go see Full of Hell live. They are one of the best bands I’ve ever seen.
