EP Review: Slake - Perish Under the Weight of Ambition
Reviewed by Robert Barker
Slake are a black metal band coming out of Lincoln, UK. They released their first EP, a self-titled 4 track, in 2023, and are coming back with their second EP, Perish Under the Weight of Ambition on April 5th 2024 via independent release, recorded at Playing Aloud Studios.
Perish’s first track, Deceived and Disillusioned, kicks in with a good twiddly riff to get us interested, then progresses into a frantic spasm of a verse, showing off the drummers skills behind the kit nicely. Vocals from frontman Joe kick in with a pitch-perfect blood-curdling scream giving off Wolves In The Throne Room vibes. Effective use of clean tones and minimalism to shift the song into an achingly nasty second half.
We move on to Fear to Tread, which begins with an almost alarm-like guitar riff and bee-wing flurry drums making for an anxiety-provoking panic of a listen. This track really slams hard once it kicks in, which doesn't take long, and shows off Joe's poison-fuelled vocals nicely. The fadeout of this track perhaps kicks in a bit early, but that goes to show mainly that so far it's been a most enjoyable experience that is leaving me wanting to hear the rest.
Tracks Nepotism Rife and Perish Under the Weight of Ambition, whist a bit shorter that the first two songs, stay very true to the form of the band’s sound, keeping the brutality up to max level. The EP clocks in at just over the 20-minute mark which makes for second and third listens both easy and welcome. Slake haven't fucked around with any unnecessary nonsense between the meat of the tracks, which keeps the pace of Perish fast and progressive.
Production of Perish may frustrate a certain collection of black-metal purists who insist that it's only black metal if it sounds like it was recorded in a biscuit tin, but this is not to the detriment of the album at all - on the contrary, the quality of the production, whilst quite clean in some places, enhances the audio, making the intricacies within the musicianship more apparent and worthy of respect, and doesn't take away from the ugly nastiness of the music that we look for in a good black metal band. The guitar work is brash and innovative whilst also remaining true to the genre with its super-speed picking and evil tone. Bass is laid nicely in the mix, not hidden, complimenting the proceedings. Drums are a chaotic madness of the highest regard. Vocals sit heavy, powerful, and unashamedly present up-front. Perish is a beast of a release from Slake, and absolutely worth the time it takes to listen to.
For Fans Of: Wolves In The Throne Room, Gorgoroth, Body Void.
