Blast Worship: Full of Hell

Where they from?
Ocean City, MD. The NHL playoffs are in full swing and you know what that means: disappointed Toronto fans. I watched the cam footage of their outdoor rally for Game 7 against Boston over the weekend even I, as hardened and cynical as a sports fan can get, felt some meager pity for them. I don’t know if God exists or what form he takes, but I do know he just really fucking hates the Maple Leafs and their fans.

Why the hype?
Hey, maybe you’ve heard of this band before? I normally try to save this column for lesser known artists as a way to boost those operating in the bowels of the grind/pv underground but obviously for this group I made an exception. No band has really dominated grind for the past fifteen years the way Full of Hell has and likewise no one has pushed the boundaries of this type of music harder. Fitting with their unorthodox approach which has made them underground superstars, the band has consistently evolved from album to album which leads us to…

Latest release?
Coagulated Bliss out now on Closed Casket Activities. I can honestly say this might be my favorite thing the band has done in their entire lofty career. Much like the striking album art, the music here is colorful, violent and unpredictable, starting with the melodic flourish of album opener ‘Half Life of Changlings’ right down to the last bagpipe(!) drone of closer ‘Malformed Ligature.’ It’s so refreshing to see that a band who could have simply rested on their laurels and put out the same album out for the next twenty years actually chose to keep experimenting and pushing forward, this time really leaning into the psychedelic aspects they had previously only flirted with. Album of the year contender? You betcha.