Chuck Schuldiner Project

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Totaled - Lament


Blackened hardcore is finally, after years of visiting on the fringes of both genre starting to makes it way in as a respected and powerful art form. This debut offering from Totaled, Lament being reissued in the next few weeks on Profound Lore is a perfect indication of all that the genre can be and what the band was able to accomplish in a shockingly brief time. This is an exciting and potent record full of all sorts of dynamic twists and turns fusing a wealth of ideas and continually pointing towards the future of the blackened hardcore genre.

With a sort of dead ahead and no holds barred approach to aural blasphemy and reveling in the madness of the bands roots, Lament is a record that can beat your head into the ground. That being said, there are also quite a few more thoughtful elements at play here and the bands implementation and use of dynamic range is actually really interesting, especially with regards to the interludes and more meditative moments. They go a step beyond their peers who merely want to make angry and in your face black metal with breakdowns. Instead Totaled have visceral soundscapes that speak to what the genre has always been. They are sick and twisted, but what would we do without them?

This is the sort of album that you can get lost in and which continually seems to hint at bleak new soundworlds for the band. While it comes from a fairly stripped down background the roots of the band seem to grow with time and really sink into the soil. Lament is a fascinating listen and one that darts all around the map whilst staying true to what the band is all about. With a clear artistic vision and a dedication to blending two genres which once could not have been more disparate, Lament is a masterful example of a band spitting in the face of God.

Grab it on Bandcamp!
https://profoundlorerecords.bandcamp.com/album/lament

1 comment:

  1. By far my 'album of the year'...so far! Amazing!!! A lot of Watain influence in there I found.Very cool!

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