Album Review: Bile Caster - Writhing Between Birth and Death
Reviewed by Dan Phipps
The Leicester or LESTAH (if you are from the city) misery trio going by the name of Bile Caster have become a personal favourite of mine since first catching them live at a house show in 2021. What I saw in that front room was a display of earth shattering heaviness and the pros of not having next door neighbours. Until now Bile Caster have a demo and split under their belt and have been working away on a new collection of tracks going by the very fitting title Writhing Between Birth and Death.
From it's burst of feedback Writhing Between Birth and Death lays its huge, miserable sound straight into your lap with its abrasive and churning guitars layered over pounding beats & its opening track Abscess sets the miserable tone perfectly for this record. Bile Caster’s formula for keeping those riffs sounding so huge is what really draws me to the band, you hear the bass just under the guitar and it really pops, especially during the slower sections on the record it keeps the punch right in your face.
But it's not just slow, Bile Caster can really turn the tempo up on its head when they want to, it may not be very often but at the times they choose it's really superbly executed and has a really honest flow with how they transition. A Lot of that comes from the drums because one thing is for certain it's that drummer Adam Starky is not light when it comes to hitting the drums and the drum sound is so full on this record. Topping off is the harrowing vocals which are slightly behind in the mix but still hit like a concrete wall when they start. A total of three songs, the shortest a tad over 8 minutes in length, the outcome is thirty minutes of some of the best sludge you will come across from a band not named Iron Monkey.
To put it simply, Bile Caster is the soundtrack to having your skull caved in, in exceedingly slow fashion. So sit back, grab your beverage of choice and play this loud as hell, just remember the one golden rule that applies to enjoying Bile Caster. No Smiles!
