Full of Hell

There's just something about Full of Hell. Upon first glance, they're a relatively young hardcore band with a few releases and tons of touring under their belts. It's impressive, but when you dig a little deeper, the Maryland/Pennsylvania four-piece turn out to be so much more. Rudiments of Mutilation is the band's sophomore LP, following a few splits and 2011 full-length Roots of Earth are Consuming My Home. While the stellar Roots of Earth showcased Full of Hell as a hardcore punk band infusing grindcore, noise and blackened death metal into their sound, exuding hate, angst and hopelessness, Rudiments of Mutilation kicks things up tenfold. The album is harsher, darker and more aggressive, as Full of Hell excel at layering different sounds. Dissonant feedback and tortured screams start the record off on "Dichotomy," as the noise seamlessly transitions into "Empty Vessel," which features rapid-fire drums and riffs before switching to slow, sludge-y grooves. The raw, unrelenting sonic assault continues, in a Converge-meets-Napalm Death way, with vocals that sound as if demons are either being exorcised or have staked their claim. The latter half of the album stands in contrast to the first, with slower, Swans-esque, experimental noise. "Embrace" features haunting rhythms and droning vocals, while "The Lord is My Light" and "In Contempt of Life" contain sludge breaks and doom-style, lucid tones. Rudiments of Mutilation is a difficult and thought-provoking listen, proving once and for all that Full of Hell are not your run-of-the-mill hardcore band.