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FAITHXTRACTOR “Loathing & The Noose”
FAITHXTRACTOR “Loathing & The Noose”
By Dr. Abner Mality
FAITHXTRACTOR from Cleveland is one of those bands in the trenches of death metal, working hard and toiling without the recognition they should have. Somehow UNDEATH and SANGUISUGABOGG wound up getting the lucky roll of the dice while FAITHXTRACTOR, a better band, gets overlooked. That might be the case with “Loathing & The Noose”, but it won’t be me that does the overlooking.
They get down to business with bludgeoning, pummeling American style DM on the first few tracks. These are competently delivered and ravaging slices of mayhem. But they just set the table. As the album rumbles on, FAITHXTRACTOR starts to take some chances and expand their sound just a bit without losing any of the brutality they’re known for. Speaking of brutality, Zdenka Prado is one of the great she-beasts of metal, with guttural roars most male singers can’t match. The only other female that compares is Bridget from STABBING. But Zdenka’s act is more nuanced than the Texans for sure.
With the song “Flooded Tombs”, the band goes full bore for the cavernous doom-death of early INCANTATION or DEAD CONGREGATION. This one is really nasty and coated with mucus, yet retaining a feel of the majestic as well. They start to stretch more with “Ethos Moribund” and “Caveats”, which pummel but in a more sophisticated fashion than the early tunes. The prolific guitarist Ash Thomas starts to show his quality.
The album ends as many these days don’t...with the best songs. “Beholden To Nightmare” is a real screamer but there is some great guitar work here. The best is saved for last with “Cerecloth Vision Veil”, which might just be the best FAITHXTRACTOR song ever. Another awesome doom-death killer, this even has some of the melody that British acts like MY DYING BRIDE possess. Amazing riffage like a procession to the tomb...this breaks some new ground for the band.
Do your patriotic death metal duty and hunt this sucker down. These guys need a break!
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