Album Review: Filth - Time To Rot
Reviewed by Sam Jones
In the pursuit of all things crushing and filthy we trek over to Sweden where the sublimely named Filth are looking to release their debut full length. Formed in 2022 out of Västra Götaland, Filth are still a relatively young band with little material the outside world may yet be familiar with. Other than a self-titled Demo last year this is otherwise the next major release from the band, but given that instance, it’s altogether vital Time To Rot hits the mark. However, a signing to Me Saco Un Ojo Records is a fantastic indication that Filth might be into something. Slated for a July 18th release date, this is Filth’s chance to convince us of their quality, promising foul and putrid soundscapes. If this delivers what I think it shall then I am already a fan of Filth, count me in, but let’s first open Time To Rot up and discern precisely what this band can bring to the table. This is Filth with their first major release.
Unveiling their album with some industrial audio bites and a rolling drum track is sure to get us on board with their growing, intensifying performance. When their performance truly begins for real however Filth demonstrate just how filthy their soundscape can be, utilising this dirty guitar tone that bleeds and oozes across the entire record. What did catch me by surprise was the tempo they opt for; given the nature of this band and and the decrepit molasses that cling to Time To Rot you’d think this were a full-blown sonic onslaught where nought is left standing. But Filth intersperse the ferocious phases of their songwriting with this trudging, steadier segments that real enable you to feel the weight every footstep of theirs stride with. Its during these more methodical pieces where the clarity of the guitars comes to the fray; they aren’t merely weaponised for blistering devastation, we’re gifted an up and close personal view of them as the decline in tempo effectively narrows the gap between band and listener.
Continuing the stance on album tone, its amazing that Filth manage to evoke such mire, such colossal vertices of horror whilst still producing a record that’s able to convey itself with honesty and direction. Such records like Time To Rot can risk being produced to the point where the tone is perceived as king and it becomes the overriding impetus behind people listening in; Filth are in a similar boat as that’s the style they’re longing for but they never bring it down to the level where their performance uses crushing, downtuned tone as a crutch. You’ll feel the strength Filth bring towards you but at no point will it lose direction or the touch of the earth. You will always know where you are and where the band are in the midst of their songwriting, knowing where you have been and excited for what’s to come. There’s also the continued implementation of these industrialised, spectral elements too, sporadic, at a minimum, but plenty enough to rank them as an integral aspect of Filth’s makeup. In pursuing this Filth raise themselves above being another crushing extreme metal act and infuse their identity alongside bands that have something more peculiar to add. By this approach, Filth apply an element of Doom to their record without instilling it instrumentally.
When it comes to the drums, Filth have done a splendid job at mixing them to the effect of imbuing them the impact of landslides. Though their pace is fast, in accordance with the rest of the band, their performance is just shy of blast beats. This is all the more telling given Filth’s adoration of all things old school, but the decision not to undergo these more extreme drumming techniques may have rendered the drums with greater vitriol. The drums crash with tenacious, rabid intensity and since the drums don’t feel as busy since the techniques employed aren’t as breakneck, it actually allows the strikes to hit us that much harder. You can almost feel the explosive energy radiating out from their drummer as he mercilessly, ceaselessly hammers his craft home and manages to do so without being drowned out by the otherwise carnivorous guitar playing. Naturally you’d want some grit behind such a record but Filth made sure each aspect of their performance could be audibly heard and enjoyed, and since that is the case it aids the formation of this churning nightmare that only revolves faster and faster where escape is futile, and the scope of their sound is hideously amorous.
Upon that opening listen it can be easy to mistakenly assume Time To Rot is this suffocating effort to endure, but continued listening reveals this record is surprisingly airy and offers plenty of room to appreciate its more nuanced, smaller niceties. People may think the seething ferocity the bulk of the band’s ethos, but in this instance those steadier sections contain perhaps the parts you need to listen most closely to. With bands like Incantation, to whom a plethora of modern death metal owe much towards, the brunt of the performance, the bellowing, volcanic volume of their crushing feats are merely the backdrop provided to what endears, and shall endear, people to Filth in the same manner. Its these smaller licks, archaic-sounding solos, rhythmic sequences etc that bind us closer to the record, showcasing the band’s true sense of evil. Yes, the overall power the band strike with is immense, just take the vocals for example as not one intelligible word is decipherable, but this is just the preliminary assault Filth are armed with. The secondary barrage is that more nuanced songwriting that really brings their crushing tone to a well-rounded realisation. Its like taking a two-dimensional form and revealing it was in fact always a three-dimensional shape that you can look over, under, around, observe etc. Filth do something similar through their songwriting, punishing us with gripping tendrils that bite and eat and snare us though quickly unveiling the true horror is so much worse than surface evil can present.
In conclusion, Filth offer up a death metal record that has far more going for it than people will initially expect. On the outset one could say they know where its all going, but Filth ensured their songwriting doesn’t leave newcomers feeling that way for long. Between the crushing riffs and dripping licks, those spectral audio bites, the vocals that gutter and spew, Time To Rot is a record that, given its short runtime, doesn’t wait long before unveiling its real potential to stand out. Now its far from unheard of for a death metal act utilising a cacophonous tone to employ more nuanced riff sequences, but Filth are playing with something darker, older, something that creaks in the shadows, as if they’re moving beyond observation. I also appreciated how Filth didn’t go so hard on this record either, they really allow you to wallow and stew in the maelstrom this record becomes. Its as if they zoom us out of the nightmare just enough that we can’t be swallowed by it and thus are granted a petrifying, putrefying vantage from which our minds can’t reel from because we understand full well what the band have done. With just six tracks it makes for a wondrously replayable record and with opportunities to pick up on facets you may have missed first time round. Time To Rot sees Filth already upon a curious crossroads; will they employ even more destructive means of production and tone or will their next grand opus see them experiment more furtively with this archaic, eldritch soundscape? Until then, we have Time To Rot. An exquisite experience.
