Century Media Records
Out Now
Words by Greg Walker
Music is an art form, an outlet of expression that often yields some stunningly beautiful sonic results as pleasing to the soul as Vincent van Gogh‘s paintings The Starry Night or Irises. The likes of these masterpieces play the role of background images in bright moments throughout peoples’ lives, creating wonderful moments of discovery and stirring inspiration. But occasionally music spews forth something as biblically diabolical and horrifyingly confronting as Francisco Goya’s Black Painting: Saturn Devouring His Son.
From 2022 EP Profound Morality, single Coalescence was entirely that for me: the first Heriot track wrought upon my ears, ejaculated forth from some earthen fissure, born from a fathomless depth obscured to even Dante himself. The sinister lull giving way to such an overpoweringly violent urgency still makes me uneasy in the pit of my stomach and remains burned into my psyche, a morbidly hedonistic pleasure I feel compelled to return to.
Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell is as befitting an album title as you’re ever likely to experience, the turmoil described in the title but a hint at the maelstrom awaiting within. Heriot’s debut full length is precise madness orchestrated, piercing open with single Foul Void immediately declaring this effort’s intent. The coiled tension is palpable, penetrating your sinew, your very marrow. There are some distinct details like the little frenetic tail on the post-chorus riff brilliantly accentuating the sledgehammer punch, and the little squealing notes in the bridge only increase the agitation. It’s fair to note at this early stage that I don’t usually get into harsh female vocals, but there’s a visceral, almost primeval authenticity in Debbie Gough’s grating rasp and jarring shrieks; this weapon in Heriot’s arsenal is something I’ve easily comes to terms with.
One of the UK scene’s fastest rising stars, Heriot operates at their peak when churning out slow, drudging punishment as bleak and harsh as the weather characteristic of their homeland. Harm Sequence mixes this attribute with some up-tempo and blast beat sections and a whirling tornado of a guitar solo that embodies classic Obituary – not the only tune here to boast a touch of classic Florida Death Metal flavour. The production is SO tight, sharp and crisp, ever-present yet expansive, spacious with enough echo on the vocal at times to perfectly compliment the positively claustrophobic atmosphere.
Quickly proving to be deft masters of their own iniquitous blend of Death, Doom, Metalcore, with pinches of Industrial, Heriot mixes a ferocious barbarity with anxious impatience to create an utter fury of a kind not often achieved as successfully or authentically in our music, all at once tormenting the listener with a first-hand ordeal of panic, terror, fear, and hysteria. Having said that, there are some surprises in store.
One such revelation comes in third track Opaline, enticing with a bewitching siren’s song, the mood seductive if not for the ominous undertone threatening behind the enchanting lure. Drawing you unconsciously into a gradual descent, you’re ensnared before you even realise, constricted in her all-consuming embrace to the point that when the real crush kicks in the realisation is shocking and your soul has already been lost to the siren. This song is the closest Heriot come to melodic and in its own dark fashion is a thing of beauty. Rivalled only by ninth track Visage on this very album, Opaline is possibly the best death metal “ballad” of all time.
Lashed is another (un)pleasant surprise, a prominent electronic beat insistent behind creepy samples and writhing hypnotic twists, this track sounds tailor-made for the opening credits soundtrack to a psychological horror crime thriller like Se7en or Saw. There’s a Middle Eastern suggestion to Debbie’s delivery in this one, akin to an Islamic sunset prayer chant; the contrast does not go unnoticed given the dark undercurrent throughout this material. Another album highlight.
Single At The Fortress Gate erupts with an excellent bounce, although it’s not pleasant and vibrant, rather it’s oppressively concussive with all the finesse of a pneumatic pile driver. Incorporating possibly the best breakdown on the album, the weighty heft had me catching myself openly uttering “Goddamn” under my breath while the final track Mourn is the closest I’ve heard Heriot come to a classic hardcore throwdown sound – albeit it’s soon dripping in their own looming atmospherics – the breakdown another gargantuan gut punch. Ultimately, the perfect closer leaves you sitting in abrupt silence.
Digested as a whole, this album leaves you mentally winded, not realising you’ve been holding your breath until the last strain has scraped the bones in your ears, and your involuntarily clenched sphincter can relax once again.
There are not enough synonyms or metaphors to describe just how brutally heavy Heriot are. Coalescence is something I’d put on for people who say they listen to anything, only to watch in gratification as they recoil in abhorrent disgust, demanding to know from which infernal demonic entity this aural turmoil was vomited forthwith.
Personally, one of my most highly anticipated album releases of 2024, Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell did not disappoint on any level. I expected a ferocity on a scale often not realised by many bands striving for this sort of sonic extremity. Utterly relentless, there’s no letup; even the quieter reprieves are eerie and ominous, constantly threatening to hurl you right back into the tumult.
An entirely uncomfortable listen, yet intrinsically stirring, covering the spectrum from smoky ethereal seduction to bludgeoning malevolence, Devoured By The Mouth Of Hell is truly a wholesale example of music as a genuine art form.
