Malthusian and Suffering Hour Illuminate "Time's Withering Shadow" (Early Split Premiere)
Putting Suffering Hour and Malthusian together in a split format just makes sense: both bands play black and death metal, and they both twist these genres into strange and wondrous new shapes that are as striking as they are abnormal. The similarities largely end there, though, which means that their upcoming split Time’s Withering Shadow provides two captivating angles on black/death metal to easily digest in a single sitting. Your first chance for said sitting might be now—we’re premiering Time’s Withering Shadow in its entirety below.
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Malthusian’s side of the split is an enveloping, writhing mass of sound. Across their two lengthy tracks, a formidable knot of evil intent slowly unravels into creeping chaos. The gnarled, uncomfortable motifs that push to the forefront across “Dissolution of Consciousness” seem like rank-and-file melodies compared to the lurching madness in “Delirium,” which almost discards rhythm entirely as it seethes and howls before finally dissolving into nothingness.
Bursting from this formless void with an initial, haunting melody and even a little harmonica, Suffering Hour’s darkly mysterious approach draws listeners into their realm of otherworldly extreme metal. Focusing heavily on atmosphere, they avoid suffocating intensity in favor of cloudy, reverberating tones that prove as thought-provoking here as they did on their last full-length The Cyclic Reckoning. If the initial harmonica on “Crawling Embers” inspires thoughts of Western soundscapes, then the second half of “Temporal Lapse,” with banjo, whistles and a galloping drumbeat, drives that imagery home. Sunswept vistas aren’t Suffering Hour’s traditional territory, but what they’ve cooked up on this split is remarkably vivid and (I hope) warrants further exploration.
From Malthusian’s initial onslaught to Suffering Hour’s less-than-typical cover choice as a conclusion, this split perpetually throws new ideas at listeners and over-delivers on their execution. The sounds that both these bands craft here are immersive, and Time’s Withering Shadow commands attention all the way through because of it.
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Time’s Withering Shadow releases May 6th via Invictus Productions.
