“Rudiments of Mutilation”…
FULL OF HELL Review + More

“Rudiments of Mutilation,” the second full-length by sound warriors Full of Hell, is as threatening as music gets. Following the face-bending “Roots of Earth are Consuming my Home” and a smattering of fantastic splits, “Rudiments” represents the band’s style in full, unapologetic form. The sludge oozes with caustic immediacy. The grind churns above, thundering at a calamitous pace. Voices of near every frequency rise and fall, forming a damned chorus enslaved by the album’s bleak drone. Full of Hell offer nothing tender, only coarse lessons on how far the boundaries of musical discomfort can be pushed.

While one would think “Rudiments of Mutilation” was a quickie when considering its twenty-minute run time, this record fucks with your ears, drags them through the dirt and subjects them to all manner of agony, rage and paranoia. It is nothing short of enjoyable. “Dichotomy” pierces your skull from the get go, that signature broken frequency used by so many peers but made a weapon here. Roars echo from beneath, a booming, forlorn mantra establishing a tone that would call a David Lynch film kin. “Vessel Deserted” manifests as a punk neckbreaker, only to morph into a barren soundscape that fluctuates from freneticism to corporeal loathing. “Throbbing Lung Fiber” allows no trespassers beyond its virulent arsenal, melding its missile silos with zero flaw into the menacing warheads of “Indigence and Guilt.”

“Embrace” quakes, acting as the closest thing to a breather “Rudiments of Mutilation” offers, no matter how welcoming its suffocation is. “The Lord is My Light” refuses to keep the dark heralded by embrace at bay, forcing the listener into a total descent. The resulting fall changes into gleeful madness of “Bone Coral and Brine,” wavering with fright and passion before the title track lays a blunt force hand on the listener. Closer “In Contempt of Life” culminates as a mass suicide of the senses: a collective, bodily thump that lingers long after the final second has passed.

“Rudiments of Mutilation” is shapeless, above all portentous and one of 2013’s best records, while without question being Full of Hell at their best. Listen and prepare to numb your mind.

“Rudiments of Mutilation” can be preordered from A389 Recordings and can be heard in full over at Terrorizer.

Full of Hell will be touring with Gehenna, Integrity and Seven Sisters of Sleep (each on varying dates) this summer. Dates can be found here. Support them, buy their wares from Cold Cuts Merch.