Generation of Vipers

With the ink on their Translation Loss deal still drying, Knoxville, TN outfit Generation of Vipers teamed up with Kurt Ballou to harden and temper their new album. The dirge-laden Howl and Filth sounds hell-bound ― think of a Cursed record being played, but with somebody's finger slowing down the platter. Of course, Ballou's production makes this album hard to resist, but it's also difficult to ignore the value of the band's raw writing, best summed up in "Eternal." Frontman Joshua Holt keeps his tortured vocals sparse, trapping the listener in his dark chamber as the guitars wail and ring out. "Slow Burn" is as well titled as it is played; it's a crushing eight-minute piece that simply extrudes bleakness. It's genuine, black-and-white, cinematic horror and gloom. Where many bands in the post-metal realm struggle to think outside the box, Generation of Vipers play their hand with terror, fire and flames.