When I first read the title of Rorcal‘s newest pile of filth, I had to laugh. Silence – the contrary to what one expects from any of this band’s vanta black offerings. In fact, peace and quiet is what you will yearn for once the record is done with you. And it comes with a whopping 42 minutes of insane heaviness, so take heed.
Welcome to one of the vilest shards of some sort of Blackened Noize from Hell that 2023 threw at us to date. And there’s nothing pretty to see here. Ready? Jump right in if you dare. But no complaints later, you have been warned.
The RMR crew had its first and latest run-in with this band for their 2016 offering κρέων (Creon). A Greek play in darkest colors that already dabbled in doomy misery and abject attacks of dissonant blackened fury. Tons of noisy metal that mercilessly unloaded itself on the unsuspecting listener. But in this here new piece, Rorcal upped the ante and added a layer of morose melancholic steely ferocity.
Thus, Silence beckons us with a truly dystopian tracklist of unclean items. Gem-worthy names like Childhood is a Knife in the Throat or Hope is a Cancer will greet you like that poisoned morning coffee from Hel’s kitchen. And one thing is certain, this horde doesn’t take no prisoners. Early Mourning starts with a friggin’ sledgehammer blow without the hint of an intro. Outstanding riffing with a sinking feeling of being in a meatgrinder that some unseen dark monster turns with glee.
At first, you get some decently blackened fare somewhat close to Creon, but already some crazed refinement peeks around that dark corner. If ‘refinement’ is a term that can be used for this album at all. But then, Rorcal pump up the heat. This – thing greedily slithers down into dissonance’s uneasy embrace. Something we haven’t quite heard since the terrible Dodecahedron had its heyday. An amalgamation of doomy rough-hewn Black Metal, filthy sludge, and unhinged noise, drunk on post-hardcore vibes and the deepest abyss that metal can cough up. What better way to portray the hopelessness and dismay that the album portrays? Right, none.
Silence grinds deep with its acidly stuttering drone passages that suddenly erupt into Post-Hardcore screamy agony with ruptured chugs from hell. A rapid-firing mayhem on steroids that’s hissing its poison into the dark corners of the music hall. But despite all that complex bedlam, you’ll find structure. Somehow it – the royal IT – all comes together and sucks everything into a maelstrom of pitch-dark blackened misery. And despite all of that, the record’s callous nature can truly get to you. Sometimes this piece feels like an avalanche of red-hot lava descending on the unsuspecting fan. A tsunami of blackened filth that suddenly erupts into putrescent malevolent beauty. Until the dreadful machine takes over in the industrial-infested and dissonant hell of No Alleviation, even in Death.
Ultimately though, Silence isn’t all that different from Rorcal‘s former works. Unhinged screams galore with abrasive noise and wacky dissonance that will relentlessly assault your eardrums. It was all already there before, right? And yet – there is change. The vocals now settle pretty smugly with the overall background. It’s not just brainless screaming and mindless fury like Yog-Sothoth in chains anymore.
In other words, the howling sports some sense and purpose with variation when and if the noize allows it. Rapid-fire changes of themes, styles, and tempi rumble over your stomach with meaty precision. In short, despite all the protoplasmic chaos, Silence is a well-written and equally well-produced record. You need to give it time to mature, though. And that may turn out to be a sucker. Lastly, this record ain’t for metal n00bs either, only hardcore metallists allowed in here.
Welcome to the void. Silence can be terrible after all.
Record Rating: 7/10 | Label: Hummus Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 29 September 2023