FEED THEM DEATH - Negative (Review)

Written by: The Voiceless Apparition

This goes without saying, but I'd imagine that you, the reader, love extreme music. But extremity is a subjective topic, it could be born of a vocal style, a style of instrumentation--perhaps lyrics as well. But there are many other ways to explore and express extremity. That leads us to the review in hand.

Feed Them Death is an extreme metal project blurring the lines of audial savagery: grindcore, death metal, black metal, doom, noise, and ambient. This project has been releasing a substantial amount of material in such a short amount of time with there being only a one year gap in between the debut album and previous album Panopticism: Belong/Be Lost. In 2021 the musician known as Void returns with his latest album Negative.

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The album begins on a more of a "conventional" note (if you can even say that) with the first three songs: "Superficialibi," "Minima Moralia," and "Displeasure in Pleasure." You have these really jagged, noisy, dissonant riffs overtop unhinged and savage vocals. The ambient and experimental noise elements are very present in these songs, but act more as a layer to add more harshness to these songs, as opposed to main highlights. But things take a sharp and drastic turn on the last half of the album.

The second half of the album begins with highlight track "Eulogic (Negative Dialektik)." The song begins in "typical" fashion, but then just takes a complete 360. About one minute in, we are greeted to the first inklings of doom metal in this song. These riffs are crawling, agonizing, and piercing, coupled with these really jarring and throbbing bursts of machine-like noise in the background. Around the three minute mark there is this really interesting and haunting ambient section, with added ghostly piano to layer into the horrors of this album.
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I have to give major props to Void as well, because most albums that feature a noise track typically keep it around a short length, but that is completely flipped around with "Our Cruelty to Reality (Evokism IV)," the longest track on the album clocking in at five and a half minutes long. This frightening, jarring, dissonant, and downright sinister song is a great way to bridge the gap between the first half and second half of the album. I don't want to give away too much about the song, so you'll have to hear for yourself when the album is released. The last track I'll talk about is the closing number "The Idiotic Yearning for More (Barbarism of Perfection)." This continues with the chaos that the album already has in play, but then just to throw you off, Void throws in some clean vocals. These clean vocals, however, are not pretty and not used as a way to add "melody," they are horrifying, tortured, and tormented chants. Now I don't like to give many comparisons when it comes to band's but the vocals gave me feels of Jason Mendonca from Akercocke: with his frightening howls. Absolutely fantastic way to close an album.

As with how this review has played out, extremity and the lack of convention are the M.O. for this album. This album is not meant to be your friend. This album is a bludgeoning, claustrophobic, sardonic, horror soundtrack through sonic torture. Go into this album with no expectations, because I feel you will have a better experience with it if you do. And by no means is that a critique. I have been enjoying the everloving fuck out of this. I really have to commend Void for being such a forward-thinking musician in a world full of copycats.

Another thing I have to give this album praise for is the runtime. The album clocks in at a sharply crisp thirty minutes, so the album never overstays its welcome. It just comes in, tortures you,  murders you, and then leaves. I will just go ahead and say it: this is probably one of my favorite albums of the year so far. It's a bold, jarring, and unconventional journey. If you are a fan of extreme music, I would HIGHLY recommend you listen to this album. And while you're at it, go pick up a copy of it from Feed Them Death and Brucia Records. I have high hopes and I await with great anticipation for what Void can conjure up next.

​Feed Them Death - Negative will be released May 7th, 2021 from Brucia Records. Pre-order on CD and vinyl here.

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​Feed Them Death can be found:
Facebook
​Bandcamp