Review: Allfather’s And All Will Be Desolation

It’s the return of Kent sludgecore outfit, Allfather! Their return heralds their sophomore long-player, And All Will Be Desolation – an album about fighting back against injustice and oppression that leans heavier into sludge metal than ever before.

While Allfather’s beginnings are rooted in the hardcore scene, And All Will Be Desolation has a noticeably more metal sound to it that brings to mind luminaries like EyeHateGod. That isn’t to say that the hardcore influence on Allfather’s music has been completely lost, but it’s used to greater effect. There are shorter songs like Citadels which definitely go ‘full hardcore’ with great, Raging Speedhorn-like effect, but tracks like opener Black Triangle begin with a faster, thrashier riff and then break down into a sludge metal passage to equally satisfying effect. Regardless of genre-crossover, you can always bet on every song being chockful of groove. It’s the sort of music you’ll absolutely want to be moving to.

Speaking of a shift towards a more metal sound, Allfather show a lot of love for a good guitar solo. This is an album that always puts a guitar solo in the most opportune moments. Solos are never over-used, but when a song needs a little extra something to help it build to a crescendo, you can always bet there’s a damn fine solo waiting for you.

Complimenting all of the album’s disgusting riffs and grunty vocals is a suitably dirty production job by the ever-reliable Jason Frye at Century Audio. Frye’s work makes the music sound like a live performance and it captures the intensity of Allfather’s sound perfectly. A sharper, cleaner sound just wouldn’t have been as satisfying.

Allfather’s And All Will Be Desolation is an incredible follow-up to their 2016 effort, Bless the Earth With Fire. It’s a more confident album that stays interesting even when the running time of the songs looks a little daunting. 7 minute tracks? They go by in a flash and you’ll be banging your head the whole time.

9/10

Allfather’s And All Will Be Desolation releases on September 7th 2018 via Rotting Throne Records. Click here to pre-order the album on CD.

Live Review: Funeral for a Friend (Hours Show) at the Kentish Town Forum 20/5/2016

ZOAX

London post hardcore act Zoax are a great booking for these final Funeral for a Friend shows. They’re a young, confident band with hooky rock anthems to draw the earlier attendees in. They also get the audience moving early thanks to vocalist Adam Carroll’s insistence on being everywhere. Carroll makes his way onto the Forum’s balcony before making his way onto the floor and getting the audience moving. It wasn’t obnoxious either; the man has a charisma that’s hugely endearing. Zoax left a great impression and put the room in good spirits.

RAGING SPEEDHORN

Booking a band like Raging Speedhorn was an odd choice for this show considering how much louder, heavier and screamier they are than everyone else on the bill, but it was great to see some variety that reminded me of a lot of my early gig experiences. Raging Speedhorn weren’t exactly greeted with the same enthusiasm as Zoax but they weren’t booed either; definitely a warm reception, just not a particularly fiery one for a band this aggressive and my God was it aggressive. Raging Speedhorn don’t feel like they’ve been away at all and they power through classics like Fuck the Voodooman and The Gush while showcasing a few numbers from their upcoming album Lost Ritual. The new songs sat perfectly alongside their older material and this offering certainly has me excited for what might be one of the greatest British comeback records in recent years.

FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND

When a very soft-spoken Matt Davies-Kreye takes to the stage unceremoniously and then followed by his bandmates, it brings with it an honesty that has always permeated Funeral for a Friend’s music. This is a band that just wants to make music and play it to people. There’s a sombre tone in his voice throughout tonight’s set and he takes every opportunity to give the fans a little backstory about each song from Hours, something he has previously shied away from.

There’s a bizarre atmosphere in the room throughout their performance. Davies-Kreye establishes from the get-go that this is a celebration but that it’s perfectly acceptable to cry if you feel you must and if anything, it felt like he himself actually would at any point during tonight’s set. The audience are phenomenally loud regardless and every song off Hours is sung with enormous enthusiasm by every person in the room.

Funeral for a Friend mean a great deal to a huge amount of people and the band treat the fans to some great surprises in the form of Streetcar b-side I Am the Arsonist and a surprise reunion with Darren Jones and Ryan Richards for a retro version of Juno from their debut EP Between Order & Model. Even so, at no point do Funeral for a Friend go over-the-top tonight. There’s no fanfare and no encore, just wonderful, honest music. God damn it Funeral for a Friend; I’m going to miss you.