Unholy hell, bleak dirge, tortured riffs, blackened drone and filthy feedback are some of the elements that make up one of the sickest bands to come out of Finland. They go by the name of Swallowed, and in 2010 they released a killer self-titled EP via EMPTINESS PRODUCTIONS. 13 minutes of death and doom will drain your body of all light, so that you become one huge morass of darkness. Their use of drone is fucking perfect, because it only expands the sense of isolation that exists in their music, which brings me to the point about their off the chain songwriting, where riffs are gods of the underworld and pounding drums are black thunder. Swallowed’s songs don’t charge at you, they crawl up your spine at a slow pace, until your whole structure has become engulfed in their mass of audio hate. It’s interesting the way that the vocals creep around the tracks, then have sudden bursts of grim screams before descending into a cave of despair. Swallowed do have moments within their songs were all hell breaks loose, but they do it in a way that is controlled madness, which makes it sound even more sinister. Their music also has layers of tension and drama that create an abyss for my rancid thoughts to get lost in. The last song on the EP, “The Dying Misted In The Bloodstream,” starts off with this funeral march vibe, before transforming into a thick wall of dry blood and doom dirge. Unsavorably is a composition that is complex, but simple at the same time; it begins with stomping drums, then morphs into a tune of wailing riffage that tells a story within itself – their is no escaping from how awesome this song is! Swallowed is a band that has a concrete vision, which makes the music that they create solid. This is a band that I want to hear more from, and beyond that, it would be extra rad to see them live! Unholy fuck, this band makes me want to start a whole new mixtape series!
[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/Unsavorably.mp3|titles=Swallowed Unsavorably]
[audio:http://staging.cvltnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/The-Dying-Misted-In-The-Bloodstream.mp3|titles=Swallowed The Dying Misted In The Bloodstream]
Tim
November 14, 2011 at 2:30 am
The 7″ is long sold out, more photo’s on my blog:
http://vinylabuse.blogspot.com/2011/02/swallowed-swallowed-7.html
A new LP should be out very soon!
MaxR
November 9, 2011 at 1:49 pm
Real gnarly doom/death metal. Another great find.
They also have a Bandcamp which I added to the blog here http://metalbandcamp.com/2011/11/swallowed-swallowed.html
Jake: You can get tape and digital at the Bandcamp, but no vinyl.
jake
November 9, 2011 at 4:32 am
i dont see anywhere to purchase this on the link provided! I want the vinyl in the picture 🙂