REVIEW: END REIGN - SUICIDE COLLECTION

I did some quick research on Durham, UK in preparation for this review of End Reign’s Suicide Collection, featuring the band's compiled releases over the last several years, and was greeted with a ton of tourist information regarding lovely coastal strolls and picturesque castles. I did, however, also come across a nearby mining museum appropriately called Killhope. This is where I imagine End Reign perform their brand of crusty, dark hardcore; deep in the dusky, dusty bowels of a subterranean labyrinth savaged of its precious metal and left dry, now just a series of cold tunnels waiting to implode under the weight of the earth above. I can safely say the music contained in Suicide Collection is heavier than all those layers of rock and soil above the mine. I won’t say that being in an End Reign mosh pit is more dangerous than being a 19th century lead miner, but the two could be a draw.

Witch Hunter Records has put Suicide Collection together in preparation for a new LP from End Reign expected later this year. The track listing is chronological, starting with the newest tracks first. The opener, “Sacrifice,” is a nasty cut of blackened crust and offers a sneak peak of their new material as the sole demo from the upcoming record. It’s manic and razor-sharp and single-handedly creates buzz on its own merit. The rest of the album, gathered from self-released demos, split albums, and EPs, is consistently awesome, proving that End Reign is not some flash-in-the-pan hardcore group lucky enough to hop on the hype train. Release to release, the material is reliably ornery and absolutely bruising. This music will never, ever wake up on the right side of the bed, and it’s very interested in sharing it’s bad mood with you as loudly as possible. If you’re like me, you’re happiest when you’re listening to others in a bad mood.

Other highlights include the sludgy re-recording of “Release the Wolves,” the versatile ripper “Azrael,” and my personal favorite, “Dream Eater.” Starting with a clean guitar intro that lures the listener into an apocalyptic doom riff, “Dream Eater” mutates into a d-beat thrasher before settling back into a grimy hardcore stomp. When End Reign play at their fastest they remind me of Young and in the Way, another group of misanthropes who make blisteringly heavy music. End Reign leans more into the hardcore camp than punk however, with fist-pumping tempo shifts and chugging breakdowns joining the crusty fray, and use a wider variety of stylistic approaches to shape their songs. Occasionally a riff overstays its welcome (like in “Horror” and “The Freeze”) but even these songs finish strongly after they splinter off into faster paced directions. Geoff Cairns’ vocals sound like they have been scraped raw and now only pure, primal rage remains. You can’t teach or fake the sort of passion on these songs, they feel totally, and terrifyingly, genuine.

I’ll be impatiently waiting for the new End Reign LP to surface, listening to Suicide Collection and urging others to do the same. This collection makes you feel grimier than the black soot and mud covering the original Killhope miners. Forget oil, this music is the real black gold worth digging for.

Check out their entire discography here:  http://end-reign.bandcamp.com/

Pre-order the Suicide Collection tape and keep track of the upcoming LP over at Witch Hunter Records:  http://witchhunterrecords.bigcartel.com/product/end-reign-suicide-collection-tape

REVIEW: TREE OF SORES - A CRY OF DESPAIR

I usually have no problem picturing an album’s evolution. From pen on paper to the rehearsal space to early drafts in front of a live audience, I have great fondness for the creative process and can feel the work put into the best songs. Tree of Sores write music so organic that it feels like they cultivated a rare seed in the black marsh behind some long-forgotten cemetery and from that seed a birch grew with skin instead of bark, with pus and blood oozing from its open wounds like gruesome maple syrup. Now I’m hungry for some flapjacks.

Tree of Sores are a three-piece who started exploring all corners of the doomiest void from their home in Leeds, UK in 2009. I have never been to Leeds but I always pictured it as an industrial wasteland much like the nameless city in David Lynch’s “Eraserhead” because I’m an ignorant American. On “A Cry of Despair,” a single 28 minute track, they nurture frail melodies and build them into crushing monoliths that dwarf everything in its shadow.

From the release of their first EP it’s been evident that Tree of Sores are patient musicians trusting the listener to watch their songs grow from the roots up. On “A Cry of Despair” the sickly, wailing guitar in the opening seconds feels like a will-o’-the-wisp leading weary travelers into the darkest part of the wilderness. The sudden deluge of thundering drums and distortion is no surprise to fans of slow-burn doom, but this album truly stands on its own when Matt Faragher’s guitar soars with melancholic reverb over the cacophony, guiding you through the storm and out the other side. The guitar arrangements between heavy onslaughts are delicate and provide warmth and texture often unheard in droning doom. Tree of Sores have created a world with this album, one where you can feel the seasons pass and plants rot and grow again. They do this with moments of light shining through the thick black tangle of branches. It feels alien to write it, but there are moments that are actually even, um, pretty. But let’s not forget that this album is still crushingly heavy with a great mix that drowns the listener in bass. The song is vast enough to engage all senses and still every minute seems essential, and that is no easy feat.

I have heard people compare Tree of Sores to many trudging sludge bands and post-metal juggernauts but the closest comparison I feel comfortable with is a band like Rwake, who also use tasteful floral flourishes to bring soft touches to even their heaviest compositions. But Tree of Sores feels even more contained, totally dedicated to creating an exact mood that will consume every person who listens.

While I try to focus on what an album is, rather than what it is not, I must admit I miss Talia’s supporting vocals on this release. Still, vocals are absolutely not the focus of this album, and this is a minor “what if” rumination from a fan geeking out after multiple listens.
 
“A Cry of  Despair” has grown on me like graveyard moss over the past few months and needs to be heard by Mogwai/Explosions in the Sky fans who may want to picture what those bands would sound like if they were weaned on leech blood in a desolate swamp. Tree of Sores write demanding music for people willing to feel a song, not just listen to it. This is definitely a band to watch, support, and encourage.

Listen to them immediately here:
http://treeofsores.bandcamp.com/
And like them on Facebook you lazy bastards:
https://www.facebook.com/TreeOfSores