Album Review: Outergods - A Kingdom Built Upon the Wreckage of Heaven
Reviewed by Sam Jones
I’ve always had a soft spot for debut albums, as if a band’s first major release has some unique place in fan’s adorations. Just as much can be said for Outergods and their first full length work titled A Kingdom Built Upon The Wreckage Of Heaven, slated for an early September release. Formed just a handful of years ago, the Nottingham-based UK extreme metal act unleashed their first offering of Outergods material with their 2021 Single, Catacombs Of Madness, soon followed up by another Single named Faceless Entities. It appears the band went quiet to work upon this first record however, as little was heard of them prior to the announcement of this first record of theirs. Now on the heels of their debut Bloodstock performance, Outergods line up to unleash their first major studio work and through Prosthetic Records too. Let’s see what this band, described as a blackened Grindcore outfit, are capable of.
If there’s anything Outergods help us to feel, it’s the sense of utter helplessness. From the opening seconds of this record, the band subject to a visceral soundscape whereby we’re utterly powerless to escape. Considering this is only the band’s first full length release, Outergods have already got down the knack of encompassing their audience within their sound, no doubt aided by a clever mixing effort of riffs and vocals. What’s beneficial to this record however, is that the band didn’t go out of their way to make this album feel so totally crushing that we can’t get our breath or seek our way through this onslaught. Their assault feels just crushing enough to illicit those feelings of entrapment, but is just east enough on us that we can digest what’s coming our way. It makes for an especially satisfying experience since we recognise how this record sits in this Goldilocks zone of mixing and production; it’s just right. It’s all the more impressive when we acknowledge the band’s implementation of screeching vocals too, when many bands leaning towards this form of production more than often adopt the guttural, lower end of vocal deliveries.
Speaking of which, I really have to commend Outergods for their vocal capability herein. I often struggle sometimes with bands who go for the higher, more visceral end of vocals as (it’s a personal preference) I find they don’t struck near as long with me as a lower, bellowing delivery does so. But Outergods have a vocal style and timbre that sits just in the range that makes it simultaneously powerful and impactful, as well as memorable. When we continue listening to Outergods’ performance, the vocals are at no point in conflict with any other aspect of the instrumentation; they’ve been mixed within the record to a wonderful degree so that you can easily digest the two main elements of this band as we go from track to track. As per the mixing too, the band have seen to it the screeching element of the vocals doesn’t go too far through the record, and instead have bound the vocals around their instrumental performance. What this means is, instead of the riffs and drumming forming the walls of the album, the vocals in fact are the boundaries by which the record assumes it’s shape and grandeur.
What did take me aback however was the different kinds of riffs the guitar work would incorporate into the songwriting. Throughout the course of a single track, the riffs can move from the blockier, traditional style we’re accustomed to receiving before morphing into a far more avant-garde and heinous style that practically assails our ears. This latter kind of riff really threw me through a loop and, before I knew it, all limitations regarding this record were thrown back as Outergods demonstrated they were capable of so much more than I had originally believed. The fact that these monstrously perverted chords come at us with incessant speed makes them only more archaic, as the band forgo notions of conventional riff playing. It’s been a while since I can recall a band who so freely employed such left-field riffs other than your more experimentally technically acts. When these instances occur, it sends the album’s atmosphere into total anarchy with the standard form of riffing bringing things back to earth again.
I’m glad the band took notice of structuring their record in a way that it would make it an easier experience on their audience. By the time you cross into the back half of their record, you know what to expect and are therefore glad when that mid-album instrumental comes in to give us the breather necessary to carry on. This is certainly one intense record with bizarre riffs, unrelenting vocals and drumming that never ceases to bind you to the songwriting’s direction; is therefore a mercy that the band understand when to take it easy on us. Yet, not only do they include break in between their track offerings, their pacing is nicely balanced with tracks that range from two to five minutes long, and with differing tempos too. As a result, while the band are deeply focused on establishing speed throughout their performance, the band throw in shifts in the record’s progression here and there to keep us engaged and interested. Couple this with the band’s ever-evolving form of riff delivery and A Kingdom Built Upon The Wreckage Of Heaven is one uncompromising album. It demands your attention and cares for nought should you dislike it.
In conclusion, Outergods are certainly a band to keep an eye on. Their blackened, Grindcore approach to extreme metal is one I really haven’t heard much of, nor anything similar to this record here. I think it’s an album that’s going to take a lot of people by surprise, and from a band so young too. I do think it’s just the right length as it’s intensity is unleashed fully from start to finish and therefore prevents audiences from feeling overburdened from such an assault on their senses. I wish I’d caught these guys playing at Bloodstock just gone on the New Blood stage, for Outergods certainly possess a sound that’s unique amongst many of their younger ilk. But foremost, I appreciate how this record isn’t one visceral swing after another; there’s genuine melody and structure found within each song so we know there’s been real thought that’s gone into their songwriting. It does help to alleviate the band’s merciless performance as we’re flung round like a rag doll. All in all, a fierce debut record to be sure.
