Full Of Hell Coagulated Bliss

Right from their inception 15 years ago and onward, Full of Hell hit the ground running with an amalgamation of blackened hardcore that's pulled from all corners of extreme metal, mixing elements of death metal, grindcore and harsh noise in equal measure and showing continuous evolution from each album to the next. Rather it was their multiple collaboration efforts with Nothing, The Body and legendary noise artist Merzbow, their 5 previous full lengths or the multitude of splits and EP's released, they've continually pushed the boundaries of their sound with each new release, much to the delight of a rabid fanbase earned through a combination of their output and a decade plus of heavy touring and an absolutely menacing live presence onstage.

For their 6th full length release and first for Closed Casket Activities, they've once again gone in a different direction, choosing to scale back the more experimental aspects of their sound in favor of a full on focus of the blisteringly heavy blasts of punk influenced grindcore that sits as the skeleton for their overall sound. In this case, less is in fact more as this distilled and stripped down version of the bands sound also houses their hardest hitting material to date.

With extra layers of density in the way of added noise elements and guest artists removed from the equation, the absolute insanity that of Full of Hell's guitarwork, maniacal rhythm section and scorched earth vocals are allowed to thrive in their full intensity, and they couldn't have picked a better set of songs to go this route with. By a large margin this set of songs house some of the catchiest and heaviest material they've crafted thus far, and while most of the songs on Coagulated Bliss fall under the 2 minute mark, their sheer force and impact leave an immediate mark that deepens with each repeat listen. Opener “Half Life of Changlings” opens with an angular riff that wouldn't sound out of place on a 90's post hardcore record before quickly descending into the blasts of violent grindcore they've made their namesake from. 

Like the majority of the songs on Coagulated Bliss, it's over before you can even fully process it but sticks with you all the same. There's also a shift towards catchy moments on this record, like the driving fist in the air riff that opens up single “Doors To Mental Agony” or the stage dive inducing ending of “Transmuting Chemical Burns”. These moments serve as a big highlight of the songwriting that's made Full of Hell more than just yet another extreme metal band, and shows clearly why they've pulled so many converts in over the years. 

This approach to a more stripped down version of the band's sound reminds heavily of Converge's pivot with 2004's You Fail Me, the follow up to their lauded classic Jane Doe that also pulled back many of the more dense elements of their sound in favor of something much more raw and organic. Much like it did with that record, it pays of well for Full of Hell here, as while there's definitely something to be said for them pushing the boundaries of their sound with experimental elements throughout the years, Coagulated Bliss is a great opportunity to show what a force they are themselves beneath all of those layers. And while the majoirty of the record is focused on sub 2 minute blasts of grindcore, there are a few exceptions here, like “Fractured Bonds to Mecca” which relies on a single beat to drive the the entire song in lieu of full drums, and the 6 minute midpoint “Bleeding Horizon” that takes the doom and sludge elements they've been known to dabble in and stretches it across one single song, serving as an excellent anchor to the album's arguably even more chaotic second half. 

Recorded at Developing Nations by Kevin Bernstein and mixed by the infamous Taylor Young of The Pit Recordings Studios as well as band's such as Deadbody, God's Hate and Twitching Tongues, this is the biggest, clearest and loudest that Full of Hell have ever sounded, and the somewhat stripped down nature of the songs helps to capture the overall intensity of their live shows in a way that previous records haven't.

Bottom Line: By now the majority of people reading this all either love or hate Full of Hell (and conflicting opinions aside, everyone agrees that I'm the worst Lambgoat reviewer of all time), and it's very unlikely that Coagulated Bliss is going to change your opinion on the band one way or the other. That being said, this record fully captures the backbone and base of one of extreme metal's most experimental band, housing some of their best material to date in it's purest and most distilled form. It's both a fantastic entry point for unintiated listeners and an exciting release for longtime fans, and for a band a decade and a half into an extremely prolific body of work, it doesn't get much better than that.