Full of Hell - Trumpeting Ecstasy

Full of Hell have been grinding away (pun definitely intended) to achieve their budding reputation as heavyweights in the world of violent, dark, noisy metal, and with this very short album they have made some notable strides. The hype machine was in pretty active spin in the weeks following the album’s release and I had heard so many people lauding it as a groundbreaking or at least high-bar achievement for extreme metal. I’m not sure what other people hear as so groundbreaking in this album, but I personally think this is at least quite more than an above-average deathgrind album. With a little bit of experimentation tossed in here and there that overall, each listen through kind of feels like it’s missing a chunk of material. I definitely enjoy this album for what it is; accomplishing very efficiently the intensity that should be expected from a short deathgrind album. But parts of the album hint at a bit of experimentation having taken place in the studio, from which only a very small amount of product was yielded. Perhaps the band didn’t feel satisfied with most of what they tried or perhaps they kept abnormalities to a minimum for fear of fracturing the project’s sonic identity. Whatever the case, I felt as though the album itself wanted to branch out further but instead was kept to itself and imploded brutally, mostly in a good way. The chaotic string of 9 incredibly short songs that make up the first 60% of the album seem to be just a bit more than an introduction to the last 2 songs, which do make for a magnificent conclusion that sounds so thinly connected to the rest of the album that it leaves a bit of an empty stomach. The album sounds rushed not in its writing but in that it sprints from its introduction so quickly to its conclusion that it feels like it missed the bulk of the in-between. I will say, though that the album does reveal itself gradually and more straightforward brutal deathgrind tracks like “Gnawed Flesh” (with its gradually slower sustained low growls) showcase the band’s exceptional performance of the style. I know I’m saying a lot about what I kind of wished for from what this album seems to be striving for, but for what it is, a largely unadulterated deathgrind album of smaller proportions, I do enjoy it a lot, especially the title track and “At the Cauldron’s Bottom” for the uniqueness they bring to the project, and in spite of its quickness it’s probably one of my favorite albums to come out this year.