All Hail The Full Length.
As an exercise, while reading this review, I want you to
create a list in your mind of bands you believe can do no wrong. I’m talking
about bands that when ISIS has a sword to your neck, you remain steadfast in
never uttering a bad word about them regardless of if they broke edge with a
bottle of passion fruit MD 20/20 or if they say the rosary with the poor
on the weekends while their Satan gear is being dry cleaned. I’ll start, P.L.F. P.L.F. could put out an acoustic K-Pop album
and I’d write a review right here on my site proclaiming it as the most bone
chilling and crushing release of the year. I’ll give you another one…Water
Torture.
Fortunately for me and everyone else, I don’t need to
blindly proclaim the brilliance of Water Torture’s first full length, Pillbox,
it does it all on its own. The dual bass
and drum trio have always leaned towards the experimental side of grindcore/powerviolence
and they have taken it to a new level on Pillbox. Tuned way low, Pillbox sounds
like the first black Sabbath after super power nations have fired upon one
another. Post apocalyptic sludge, littered with spurts of blast and chock full
of urban decayed noise. Rust Belt grooves behind a rain storm of metal shard
vocals and steel factory drumming. The brilliance of Pillbox is not just that
it’s a full length, but the way it flows as a true linear listen. Short, fast, menacing
tracks linked together by ominous noise create a sonic premonition of a bleak
future.
Pillbox opens with a 30 second noise intro that gives way to
familiar Water Torture low tuned grindviolence. They grind out 5 tracks before
coming to the first mechanical-like noise intermission. It almost serves as a
breather for the punishment you just took. The noise gives way to my favorite
track, "Fourth Stage", which builds into fierce powerviolence before dropping
down into thick, down tuned, doom licks littered with spurts of drum blast. "Boxcars" is a unique track in that it’s almost 3 minutes of solid doom; with
long, drawn out, tormented chugs behind strained shouts; very dark. Post nuclear
fallout, Godfather-esque, instrumental track "Creature of Repetition" is another agonizing
interlude to break up the grinding pummel and stretch out the overall despair
of this album. "Rat" comes in with another fuzzed out doom intro that maintains a
mid-pace groove before slowing even further before fading out. The Water Torture speed is still here as well.
Title track, "Pillbox", starts fast and maintains a nice speed to groove combination
before giving way to noise which is a formula followed throughout.
Overall, Pillbox is a true genre crippler. It’s a grindcore/powerviolence/noise
record overcast with doom making it a truly tormenting listen. The low end tune and production on Pillbox
capture how heavy the Water Torture sound can be. Tip of the cap to whoever is responsible for
conceptualizing this record and the brilliant use of the noise interludes that
tie what could easily be a couple of 7”s into a masterful large vinyl. The
packaging from Nerve Altar is suited perfectly and can be purchased from their site. You already know this is good, but do you really know how good?
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