ONHOU - ENDLING In Review: by Johnathan Breytenbach for Dystopia.
ONHOU – ENDLING (2019 Album Release)
Band: ONHOU (Groningen, Netherlands)
Album: ENDLING (2019)
Release Date: 29th November 2019
Genre: Sludge Metal, Doom, Post-metal, Metal
Record Label: Lay Bare Recordings
ONHOU – ENDLING Cover art
“with each note, and every resonance, it delivers you directly to the precipice of anguished defeat.”
“ENDLING” track listing:
- Dire
- March Retreat
- Silence
This year (2019) has seen some great Doom/Sludge releases, some great for a few spins at most, whilst others great for years to come. That’s the thing about a niche, select genre that is still considered quite ‘Underground’ in many eyes, either you hit and miss, or you release something that you’d want to be sharing with your grandkids one day. It’s a fine line, but made all the broader as bands continue to reinvent the genre.
Doom as a whole has seen many reincarnations, from the Sabbath-inspired Stoner-Doom bubble, to the punishingly bleak soundscapes of Funeral Doom, but one genre that seems to consistently reinvent itself is Sludge. See, Sludge as a whole is as versatile as it is unpolished, with bands weaving previously unseen components into its already-abstruse genus. In Mike William’s own words, “the moniker of sludge apparently has to do with the slowness, the dirtiness, the filth and general feel of decadence the tunes convey.”
Given the context of the above, it’s easy to see why Sludge developed a cohabitation with Doom. Both share the poignancy of sombre soundscapes, although Sludge has taken the formula and created something far filthier, far more exposed than previously seen. But, enough of the music history lesson, what you’re here for is ONHOU and their release of ‘ENDLING’.
The Meaty Bit / Review:
ONHOU has seen recent success with the release of their self-titled EP last year, an album that encapsulated the band’s aphorism of scrutinizing dark territories and shaping dismal, forsaken uneasiness through immense soundscapes. This proverb stands true still with their release of ‘ENDLING’. This latest album shapes a new depth to their sound, whilst being unrelenting in their pursuit of creating a blackened abyss of uncompromised anguish. Three tracks landing in at just under 40 minutes, the tracks lend your ear for +10 minutes per track, and that’s in no way a bad thing. Each track grips you where it hurts and keeps you absorbed for its duration, ensuring you feel the drenched sludgyness of their toiled craft.
1. Dire
The album opens up with arguably their flagship track, ‘Dire’. A 17-minute dive to the fathomless depths of reverb-soaked nihilism and anguish. The opening of the track throws you headfirst into the void, greeting you with abrasive vocals and titanic soundwall that extends onwards for a solid minute-and-a-half. The soundwall finally relents its auditory assault, following up with one-of-few primal intermissions that allow you a moment’s respite before throwing you back into the fray.
The dissonant guitar tone of the track heavily relies on extended lengths of distorted harmonics, aiding the sense of unease, with frequent enough interludes of isolated cadence to better accentuate the crushing timbre of the doom breakdowns. The bass is where it’s at though, leading the forefront of the track’s overall tone. The basswork here creates boundless depth, forming the confluence of the track’s ambiance and collective texture. Droning drumwork doesn’t stray too far for the Doom standard, but it certainly forms the substratum for the massive soundscapes to assemble off.
The track finally hits its pre-closure with atmospheric post-metal ambiance, although not before subjecting you to one last slab of a crusty soundwall. The track is profoundly Doom, while permeated with Sludge and is a good exordium for the rest of the album. It sets the bar pretty high for its follow-up tracks.
2. March Retreat
The next track on the roster, ‘March Retreat’, does justice to the album opener, although doesn’t outshine it. ‘March Retreat’ delves into what can be described as a more abrasive vocal style, almost Hardcore-esque in some sense, with shouted vocals bearing no mercy assailing your ears with occasional backup vocals materializing, compounding the caustic nature of the overtone. The track opens with haunting guitar licks that bleed with diabolical dissonance, and progresses into extended rhythmics that add to the track’s miserable post-metal atmospherics. The breather at the half-way-mark sets up a rather uneasy tension, with escalations that drop off just before you think it’s about to tear open, and then just as you’ve accepted this fate, the final crescendo ruptures open up into a bubonic assailment. This doomy/sludge break is such a satisfying conclusion to a nigh 2 minute build up. Overall, this track, while not perhaps being the star child of the album, it shows great versatility and variation.
3. Silence
‘Silence’ picks up the pieces ‘March Retreat’ left behind, and proceeds to further smash them ever smaller, not hesitating to throw the listener farther into the dismal and barren landscapes of unprecedented Doom. The track sees continuation of the grainy, abrasive and raw vocals, albeit with more drawn-out phonetics. This continuation of vocal style aggregates well with the weighted, distorted riffage, concocting an atmosphere of Anguish and Dissolution. The track sees a return of the backup vocalist in a more black-metal shriek that fits the track’s sound perfectly. Synths can be heard providing background ambiance in the form of eerie and swirling atmospherics. The last quarter of the track explores multiple textures without providing context, leaving behind a minimalistic, deconstructed soundsphere to traverse and explore. The track closure sees it decay into a contrasting antithesis to the beginning of the album, leaving the listener cold and sullen, all warmth and emotion drained from their anesthetized existence.
ONHOU Band photo
With ‘ENDLING’, ONHOU has added a solid release to their roster that imbues their nihilistic philosophy into their music, and with each note, and every resonance, it delivers you directly to the precipice of anguished defeat.
Article by J. Breytenbach.
Published through Dystopia, The Local Band Scene.
Watch the video for Dire
Pre-order ENDLING: Vinyl (LBR026)
Onhou Links
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