Beastmilk are a self-proclaimed “apocalyptic post-punk”
band, and I couldn't think of a better way to describe the sound of their
second release Use Your Deluge. Worry not, this is not another weak
attempt at some metal and post-punk hybridization; it's just rock and roll,
really. It's loud, driving, and rather fun despite its abysmal themes.
You're atop
a mountain of gravel, the noxious bi-product of nearby smoke-stacks clouds out
the concrete jungle in the distance. At the base of the pile the fellows in
Beastmilk don't do much to comfort you. The vocals of Kvohst (Dødheimsgard,
Hexvessel, etc.) are soaring and intimidatingly angelic as always. The heavily
distorted guitars seethe with simple, effective chord progressions, reminding
me of contemporaries 'A Place to Bury Strangers' in a way. The percussive
element is driving with little to no flourishes, merely laying a tom-heavy
groundwork that gives the album an almost danceable quality.
The four
tracks possess only subtle differences, but are held together with a cohesive
vision and atmosphere. A full length of this material would need to possess a
much greater spectrum of ideas, but for an EP this works. It's not
groundbreaking, nor do the songs have any particularly movement through the
work as a whole. Instead we're given a rather innocent apocalyptic glimpse in
four equal parts, and for that it works very well on repeat. So go find a
factory to trespass on, get drunk, and sway to the deluge.
(Listen to this after the previously reviewed 'Stagnant Waters'
album to mellow out.)
-Ben
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