Album Review: Father Befouled - Immaculate Pain
Reviewed by Sam Jones
You’d be hard pressed to find anyone amongst the Metal Underground who didn’t know who Father Befouled are, the cavernous, subterranean beings that they are. Formed in 2006 out of Georgia, United States, the band have in my eyes never once missed with a release of theirs. 2008 saw their first album, Obscurus Nex Cultus, release and 2010 saw the drop Morbid Destitution Of Covenant. Their third album, Revulsion Of Seraphic Grace, released in 2012, and it wouldn’t be for another five years until their next, and my personal discovery of the band, 2017’s Desolate Gods. With an EP, Split and a Live Album in the following, Father Befouled aren’t a band to simply sit things out, and thus they reared their heads once more for their most recent album: 2022’s Crowned In Veneficum. With hype riding high, the band are looking to build upon this, and have announced plans to release their latest EP: Immaculate Pain. Once more releasing through Everlasting Spew Records and down for a September 13th release window, I was very excited to delve right into the band’s latest efforts.
Father Befouled have not once held back on their crushing performance and this EP showcases the band have little wish to rescind just yet. Right out of the gate the band volley one blast beat and cavernous riff after another our way with no inkling mercy is going to show itself at any point throughout the EP. The ambience that has pervaded all of Father Befouled’s records is just as present here too, for Immaculate Pain not only sounds heavy but permeates this work with a sickening, dripping aesthetic. Listening to this EP is akin to walking through a shack that’s become completely taken over by the swamp where lakes of oozing pus and gelatinous materials bulge. Much like their full length material, the tracks found on Immaculate Pain begin and end with little fanfare for the band are concerned chiefly with getting you in their songwriting as quickly as they can without anything unnecessary reducing the impact their performance will have on you.
If anything, I’d say the band’s guitar tone is a minuscule lighter than what we’ve come to expect lately. This sounds preposterous given the band’s regular studio albums which feature guitar tones reaching through the inner Earth and then some, but there’s something regarding Immaculate Pain here that feels just a little easier to digest. Father Befouled aren’t renowned for being one of the lighter bands in extreme metal and people who first discover the band understands perfectly well what to receive from them, yet, this being the case, Immaculate Pain does feel easier to listen to, not because the band’s pummelling has suddenly lessened, but because the band have seemingly placed a keener attention on how the audience interpret riffs. The band’s cavernous style is still here in droves but within the mix, the guitar work feels more finely tuned which means we’ve got a greater understanding where the riffs are heading, how the solos feel etc. It makes for an altogether easier listening experience since we don’t feel so totally crushed to the earth; the band’s boot is still firmly upon our head but it isn’t pressing so hard.
Though Father Befouled’s aesthetic is known for being this aggressive, suffocating force, it’s good to acknowledge the band don’t put you through the grinder at every conceivable moment. There may only be five tracks on this EP here but don’t think the band are going to let you off lightly; riffs and atmosphere come down on you like a sledgehammer from height. But that’s viewing the band at speed; Father Befouled’s prowess is arguably when they slow things down and adopt a more acutely death/doom metal vibe. The band may excel at faster paces, as they do throughout their cover of Morbid Angel’s “Pain Divine”, but the juicier core their sound can throw up is far slower and steadier. These methodical sequences of songwriting are likely needed to balance out the songwriting as otherwise we may feel a little overwhelmed at both the pacing and intensity of the band’s crushing tone. This is all the more required when tracks can run for five and, like their “Abomination Of Flesh”, up to seven minutes long; songwriting like that is needed to keep us engaged otherwise our attention may start to waver owing to our inability to discern the differing stages of a track we’re listening to.
In conclusion, Immaculate Pain is an interesting EP by Father Befouled since it shows us what can happen when the band just lessen the intensity of their guitar tone just a touch. It turns out it’s not a completely negative thing, for it enables us to fine tune our senses better towards interpreting the band’s songwriting as a whole. That’s not to say the band have forgone all pretences of annihilation; their production is still heavy with the bass and they’re laying it on bold upon the senses, yet Father Befouled don’t lay the pressure upon your skull as totally as they’ve done so in the past. Longtime fans, like myself, will find themselves very pleased with the band’s selection of tracks especially with the two covers found in the digital version as well. It’s a very tight performance found across all five tracks which is hardly anything new from the band at this point in their career. Prior to their most recent album in 2022 it has been a full five years since their 2017 record, and with this EP I’m taking it as a sign the band are looking to release another full length work next year or in early 2026. Father Befouled are lauded as a competently reliable death metal act who rarely ever go easy on us, and while a tiny tweak has been made throughout this EP, it’s still the cavernous monster we all know and love.
