Taking the listener by the throat down the five rivers encircling its underworld, Hades is the new EP from British metallers Triverse Massacre and the hellacious outpouring of the potential first bred in their previous releases. Back in 2014, the With Bared Teeth And Truths EP suggested that the band had the wares to make a potent impact on the British metal scene; Hades is that mighty trespass but one still hinting of greater things yet to come.
Bursting from the depths of Carlisle in 2010, Triverse Massacre quickly stirred up local support and in turn within the metal underground crowd with the release of debut EP In The Jaws Of Deceit. It was a growing reputation equally fuelled by their ferocious live presence which has gone on to see the band earn strong praise and share stages since with the likes of Skindred, Raging Speedhorn, Aliases, The Sun Explodes, The Colour Line, Reign Of Fury, and Anihilated and play Bloodstock Open Air last year alongside Slayer, Behemoth, Mastodon, and Gojira. With Bared Teeth and Truths provoked more concentrated attention and awareness of the band and their ravenous fusion of death, groove, and thrash metal; an incendiary mix now truly igniting within Hades.
The release opens up with Cocytus, an instrumental of imposing grandeur and looming shadows creating the climate you would expect surrounding the domain and god of the underworld. Guitars eventually encroach on the deceitful grace of the air creating a link to waiting venomous jaws as the track flows into the predacious animosity and corrosive depths of Styx. As the guitars of James Graham and Chris Kelsall gnaw and taunt the senses with riffs and grooves, vocalist Liam Stark descends and invades with his raw and potent mix of attacks, the frontman as the sound around him openly showing a growth in snarl and dexterity since that last EP. The guitars continue to weave a web of creative deceit, lures of infectious and seductive design woven to violate while the biting beats of Mike Collins and the tenebrific lines of bassist Jason McEwan have nothing in mind except merciless trespass.
It is a mighty and increasingly gripping track still slightly outshone though by next up Acheron. With grooves swinging from its first breath and contagious irritability coating every note and raw throated expulsion, the track unleashes the most virulent strain of toxic rock ‘n’ roll. The band’s sound has fully escaped any confines of extreme metal tagging, the third track epitomising its adventure and maturity and especially its rudely addictive quality forcing full submission to its rancor.
Lethe is simply bestial; a vicious harrying of the senses. Every element of its twisted body and intent is delicious harassment, grooves swarming through ears as rhythms advance with horde like barbarity. Within the tempest though, as across all tracks, there is a melodic prowess which accentuates rather than tempers the pernicious infestation but equally spotlights the instinctive craft breeding the envenomed imagination and onslaught on offer.
The EP closes with Phelegethon, arguably the biggest intrusive nagging of the senses of them all and quite possibly our favourite though that honour is consistently shared with its two predecessors. It is a stirring end though with the guitars a viperish incursion and rhythms a bold and numbing incitement as Stark crawls and lurches over the senses and psyche with vocal glands spilling malevolence in varying shades.
With Hades, Triverse Massacre has presented itself to the main table of extreme metal but as the EP thrills you still get the sense that the band is nowhere close to depleting its creative depths. That suggests very potent horizons for the quintet and for our beleaguered ears alongside them.
The Hades EP is released May 26th @ https://triversemassacre.bandcamp.com/ or http://triversemassacre.bigcartel.com/
http://www.triversemassacre.com/ https://www.facebook.com/TriverseMassacre%20/ https://twitter.com/TriverseM
Pete RingMaster 25/05/2017
Copyright RingMaster: MyFreeCopyright
It is a thrilling creative ferocity more than matched within next up Consume. From its first breath grooves bait and trap the imagination and hips, the bruising of further predatory rhythms and the malice of vocal antipathy soon arising as the scent of a Bloodsimple joins punk irritability as much CIV as it is High On Fire like. Stalking the senses with more ursine dexterity and rigour, the track is viral vindictiveness but itself slightly eclipsed by its successor in the shape of the new All At Sea single Gimme The Mic. Initially there is a similar holler and shape to its attack to the previous track but an essence soon woven into and consumed by the song’s own groove laden, spite fuelled stomp. There is a bluesy taint to that grooving which simmers rather than flames within the sonic fire and rhythmic battering but adds another great hue to the uncompromisingly intrusive and anthemic battle front of the encounter.
The biggest spotlight is now sure to be tempted with the release of ///, from its claw slashed title to its ursine assault of sound, the album is an inescapable beast of character, aggression, and invention mauling the listener from its first breath with opener Blackpool. Its first gasp brings a senses eroding surge of guitar and Maarten Albrechts’ furious vocals, a colossal onslaught weighted further by the lethal swings of drummer Serch Carriere and the grievous tone of Dries Verhaert’s bass. As the corrosive tide continues scything riffs and squalling grooves escape the already impressing exploits of guitarist Leander Tsjakalov, his creative weave in turn sparking greater variety in the vocal roar of Albrechts and band. Like a blend of Meshuggah, Slipknot, and Society 1, the song bullies and seduces, opening up more unpredictable twists and compelling exploits with every passing wave of imagination.
moment of inescapable persuasion like a warm oasis at the eye of an increasingly psychotic storm. With every element combined, it is a fearsome bewitchment with the animalistic growl of bass irresistible, delicious bait continuing as 7 strolls into view carrying a maze of meandering anxious grooves and sonic psychosis. Becoming more brutal and intense with each passing moment, it equally breeds a captivation of harmonic and melodic seduction, the union of extremes as catchy as it is wanton. The song is a helter-skelter of invention and craft, fiercely glorious leaving exhausted ears in bliss and easy prey for the slow menacing prowl of instrumental Klank before Raw has them consumed in another eddy of feverish craft and unbridled discord abound with swirling contrasts and volatile textures all woven into one mouth-watering dispute.
The following Brother Man warmly grabs ears next like a collusion of Ruts and 12 Stone Toddler; its stalking groove and melodic coaxing a delicious mix soon embracing a reggae and metal induced tempest in turn proceeding to entangle all earlier aspects within its similarly and seriously catchy landscape. The further into its depths the more deranged twists show their voracious enticements as too mellower melodic but no less certifiable essences. Thorough captivation, it is more than matched in aberrant adventure by Dead Duck Dock. The song also follows those before it by making a relatively gentle melody woven entrance but also one soon showing argumentative discord in sound and intensity as its groove metal instincts rise. With hues of Slipknot and Society 1 to its growl, the song is a roar of creative irritability and intrigue never resting for long in one flavour or mood.
Barely a breath is taken between the outstanding encounter and the equally impressive Divide, a twitch of ears and you miss the moment but not the fresh character of craft and intent quickly confronting ears. The track, even with its own unchained ferociousness and emotion, is more is a predator than its predecessor, sizing up and lunging at the jugular time and time again. Again steely grooves enslave and incite body and appetite, Antony Costello and Jack Day creating a senses eroding web of enterprise and infection while the diversity of spiteful vocals more than fully satisfy.
Do the same things still drive the band when it was fresh-faced or have they evolved over time?
It is not easy for any new band to make an impact regionally let alone nationally and further afield. How have you found it? Are there still the opportunities to make a mark if the drive is there for new bands?
