Full of Hell – Weeping Choir (Relapse)
Thursday, 16th May 2019
Full of Hell have made a name for themselves in the utterly abrasive combination of grindcore, power electronics, noise, and black metal. To the point that they have now signed with Relapse Records to further push their incendiary and volatile musical attack. Weeping Choir attempts to go outside of the sheer brutality box, but the results aren’t as spectacular as the carnage itself can be.
A 25-minute, 11-track assault is what Weeping Choir provides, though it feels a little uneven at times. There’s some wonderfully caustic tracks to be found, which lean further into the grindcore side of things and they attempt to make your head explode with their fiery aggression. “Downward,” “Haunted Arches,” and “Silmaril” spew plenty of venom, and other tracks like “Angels Gather Here” and “Aria of Jeweled Tears” are quite adept at weaving in the electronics to really hammer home the fusion point. But the album’s two longest tracks (which together add up to about 40% of the runtime) feel a bit flat. “Rainbow Coil” induces a state of dread with its electronic use, but at 3 minutes (compared to the other blistering tracks) it’s far too long to maintain its impact. Likewise, the near 7-minute “Army of Obsidian Glass” uses some droning riffs at the onset and the track veers into more sludge-y territory, but it never seems to make as much of an impact emotionally, nor do the riffs provide as much flavor.
While it’s admirable that the band has attempted to inject more atmosphere and dread to some of the music, it just doesn’t seem to capture the same impact that the balls-out aggression of their more grindcore/powerviolence vibes establish. Weeping Choir is best when it’s at its snarling attack is in full force, and sadly the rest just doesn’t quite measure up.
