Total void-worshipping, perverse blackness worthy of such hyperbolic metal-speak!
Out of the left-field comes the 2019 double LP release from MISCARRIAGE, an international, presumably-internet based recording project. Having been only somewhat familiar with the "Homicidal Mania Trilogy" collection CD, I expected from "Imminent Horror" a slab of aggressive, slightly grinding death/black metal with hints of panicked dissonance. However, a change of pace and intent has clearly taken place here and MISCARRIAGE have turned far more towards the psychotic, depraved depths of 1990s ESOTERIC and WORMPHLEGM's most abyssic material, with the guitars still retaining the smear of PORTAL/IMPETOUS RITUAL-influenced wash in that much of the riffing incorporates ugly, tremelo-strummed chords. Structurally, as you might expect, the songs mostly sit in the slow but still tastefully dynamic pace of the aforementioned ESOTERIC and kick up into some more mid-tempo sections every now and then. Interestingly - and definitely something to be appreciated around here - is the continued use of multi-layered pitch-shifted vocals, as when used in the context of this kind of somewhat atypical extreme doom/death/black metal, do much to increase the density of the putrescent and perverse atmosphere. I would say that while the cover art would lead many to assume that the band was yet another CARCASS clone, however, when considered in context with the music on "Imminent Horror", it is very apt, given that a gory collage of deformities, limbs, teeth and such being mashed up against an ominous black hole represents the record perfectly.
Binding all of the above together is the appropriately natural and organic production. Thick, reverbed drums, dense guitars heavy on the low and mid-range and heavily-effected vocals. Not raw, but no by means "clean". Since it's a double LP, the runtime ends up around 60 minutes, but thankfully the record doesn't overstay its welcome, unlike much of the output of the "slow metal" world. A drawback is that sometimes the picking of the guitar seems to be audible through the recorded sound - I suppose it's possible that it could be something else, but that's a rookie mistake if so (don't record guitars if you have sleeping family/housemates in the next room!). Regardless, that shouldn't put anyone off checking this out as those familiar with the aforementioned bands should get on this, as it seemingly passed many by at the time of release (myself included). Co-released by Me Saco Un Ujo (UK) and Sentient Ruin Laboratories (USA).
LISTEN/BUY:
Imminent Horror | Miscarriage | Me Saco Un Ojo Records
Imminent Horror | MISCARRIAGE | Sentient Ruin Laboratories