ALBUM REVIEW: Suffering Hour – The Cyclic Reckoning

Recently American Black / Death Metal trio SUFFERING HOUR unveiled the second full length album via Profound Lore Records. Below are my thoughts on this fearsome opus.

Droning guitars and chiming cymbals open the vortex with eerie and foreboding sounds that immediately begin an ascension to upbeat convulsions of dissonant resplendence. The immediately unique and avant-garde riffing atop monstrous drum work is certainly a bold entrance, one that is very much welcome to my ear. Creepy vocals add a low snarling incantation to the sonic upheaval with a reverence towards the cascades of destructive percussion and scathing, vitriolic riffs. This unhinged soundscape has an unbalanced, volatile quality that could immediately disperse or force us further into the depths of the abyss, often opting for the latter. This barrage of discourse utilises some phenomenal musical abilities to conjure a foul and yet entrancing ambience of mighty Blackened Death Metal that is truly a formidable force to be reckoned with in all of its untamed, feral glory.

Forging onwards, the depraved lunacy of vibrantly jarring instruments continue to jump through portals of sonic unrest, offering a reliable but never predictable barrage of tormenting and visceral soundscapes that devolve and progress from warped riffs to all-purging blasts and meet the hideous vocals with twisting contortions of ecstatically grooving hooks. This punishing array of originality has a ritualistic quality, aided by the dense production that accentuates each and every element of intensity in the diverse, sparse and downright uncongenial musicianship. Sporadic shifts in pacing and tonality from piercing, shrieks of the guitar to murky riffs and howling vocals atop some of the most varied drums, often centred around delicate cymbal work concocts a magnificently deranged and disturbing set of progressions within each song that flow seamlessly like an organic life form from the depths of somewhere very mysterious. Each of these demented offerings, while spectacular, work far more ferociously in the context of the entire albums grandiose workings, contributing to a far greater, abyssal picture.

While maniacally aggressive and unforgiving sounds are often maintained, we see a dormant sense of malady in some more sombre sections contrast this, displaying complexity and a lurking sense of dread expunge all hope as the masterfully crafted songs drift through an elemental storm of brooding, catatonic doom that blends unfalteringly with the cosmic sparseness of the sound and bitter ferocity on display throughout. Each of the 5 pieces is a psychotropic and insightful work of art, coming together for a complete overhaul of the mind with this mesmerising tome of grievous energies. Though clearly atmosphere is the main focus here, there is plentiful barbaric disdain amidst the intellectually-driven soundscapes of melancholia. Also present are moments of triumphant and rather infectious mood as pounding drums lay a foundation to monstrously bellowing riffs, thunderous bass lines and bestial vocals in unison. Quite the juxtaposition to searing dissonant cascades yet a fitting and worthy element that transitions naturally. Suffering Hour paint a full picture of radiant deterioration that is somehow both lucid and yet shrouded in mystique. Truly a haunting, imposing and claustrophobic listen that is impossible to tear yourself away from until the last notes ring out, returning you from the abyss of meditative insight.

Feral, unwieldy and hysterically manic, this is a feverish and fervent offering of Black / Death Metal that is masterfully unique in its craftsmanship, songwriting and execution. Enter a state of delirium as you become entranced by discordantly melodic and ritualistic soundscapes from the depths of an estranged place, allow yourself to become absorbed entirely and truly see what Suffering Hour have to offer as I can assure you it is truly something marvellous.