Maryland/Pennsylvania experimental metal/hardcore outfit Full of Hell have been quite busy since releasing 2013's Rudiments of Mutilation. Between world tours, the quartet have released splits with Psywarfare and Nails, and collaboration albums with Merzbow and the Body. They returned to their own creative shores with Trumpeting Ecstasy, out now on Profound Lore. As vocalist Dylan Walker tells Exclaim!, he feels really good about focusing on just their own vision once again.
"We've been learning a lot since we've been a band, and we've become maybe a little more comfortable in our own shoes — at least I have been," Walker explains. "We were just ready to make our own record after doing collabs for a couple years and I was really excited to do it; it feels really comfortable to put out.
"[With the collaboration albums] I felt like we were being held to standards of musicians that have a lot more of a reputation than we do and perhaps are much more talented than we are. Those were much more high-pressure situations. So when we went in to record this, it was really nice because it was like, 'Well this is just about us.' It's our vision and we get to go back to home base, to creating an album that's us."
Trumpeting Ecstasy features 11 tracks encompassing the band's diverse and dynamic sound, incorporating various influences — from grindcore and punk to death and black metal — into a unique sonic assault. The band's technical proficiency has improved over the years, and on this album, their sound has moved into the more extreme metal side.
While Trumpeting Ecstasy dials back some of their previously more pronounced noise elements, it features other expansive experimental touches. Walker says they learned a lot from their collaborations with noise artist Merzbow and avant-garde sludge duo the Body, who made a significant impact on Full of Hell.
"Working with people like Masami Akita [Merzbow], or Lee [Buford] and Chip [King] from the Body, were really eye-opening experiences for us. We might not have been willing, or even able, to do some of the things that we were looking to do with the new record. Those guys gave us these nice extra toolsets that only would've come with a situation like making music with them — like the idea of improvisation or having extra instrumentation outside of the normal rock band style," he explains.
"Lee from the Body actually provided a beat for us that we really wanted [on the title track] and we built the song in the studio a lot like how the Body build their songs. That's something we never would have done without having been in the studio with them — watching how they work, learning how fun it can be, and learning how something like electronic drums can just really open things us. Those guys were really instrumental for us, in opening doors and showing us that there really aren't any limits to what we're allowed to do."
"We've been learning a lot since we've been a band, and we've become maybe a little more comfortable in our own shoes — at least I have been," Walker explains. "We were just ready to make our own record after doing collabs for a couple years and I was really excited to do it; it feels really comfortable to put out.
"[With the collaboration albums] I felt like we were being held to standards of musicians that have a lot more of a reputation than we do and perhaps are much more talented than we are. Those were much more high-pressure situations. So when we went in to record this, it was really nice because it was like, 'Well this is just about us.' It's our vision and we get to go back to home base, to creating an album that's us."
Trumpeting Ecstasy features 11 tracks encompassing the band's diverse and dynamic sound, incorporating various influences — from grindcore and punk to death and black metal — into a unique sonic assault. The band's technical proficiency has improved over the years, and on this album, their sound has moved into the more extreme metal side.
While Trumpeting Ecstasy dials back some of their previously more pronounced noise elements, it features other expansive experimental touches. Walker says they learned a lot from their collaborations with noise artist Merzbow and avant-garde sludge duo the Body, who made a significant impact on Full of Hell.
"Working with people like Masami Akita [Merzbow], or Lee [Buford] and Chip [King] from the Body, were really eye-opening experiences for us. We might not have been willing, or even able, to do some of the things that we were looking to do with the new record. Those guys gave us these nice extra toolsets that only would've come with a situation like making music with them — like the idea of improvisation or having extra instrumentation outside of the normal rock band style," he explains.
"Lee from the Body actually provided a beat for us that we really wanted [on the title track] and we built the song in the studio a lot like how the Body build their songs. That's something we never would have done without having been in the studio with them — watching how they work, learning how fun it can be, and learning how something like electronic drums can just really open things us. Those guys were really instrumental for us, in opening doors and showing us that there really aren't any limits to what we're allowed to do."
