Album Review: Viscera – 4. Assets For Psychedelic Warfare
Reviewed by Oli Gonzalez
Time for another venture into the world of post metal, this time with Italy’s Viscera going under the microscope on the eve of their next full length release, “4. Assets For Psychedelic Warfare”. The band describe their sound as an “experimental melange of grindcore, new wave and heavy psychedelic music”. Sounds quite chaotic and varied! The Italians have listed multiple prominent bands across many genres that include the likes of Emperor, Discharge, Napalm Death, and Eyehategod. So what exactly can we expect from Viscera’s sound based off of this? The suspense is too much for me and I need to dive in now!
Based on that information above, the opening track tracks to the album are everything I expected. I just wasn’t sure how that would manifest! What I was introduced to was a chaotic and aggressive blend of multiple genres; the on the nose and blunt grind delivery, but rather than coming in short relentless bursts, the delivery feels more calculated and considered. Movements and passages are given the chance they need to develop and progress naturally rather than being hurried along before they’ve come to the boil. There’s a very subtle blackened underlining to the music also, much like Enslaved or Ihsahn (now the Emperor support slot makes sense!). Things slow down considerably for ‘Radiant’ and whilst the harsh primitive shriek and screamed style vocals were prominent, now the voice of the band is more calm and cleanly sung. Almost like Alcest, especially when you consider the very subtle shoegaze vibe. Whilst the psychedelic and shoegazey elements are present, the focus remains on the guitars and bass locking in to create groove-laden walls of distorted sound! Strong enough to hold their own and retain clarity but not fierce enough to overwhelm.
They lean more into the experimental and psychedelics in ‘The Messiah Complex’, providing smokey desert gaze movements. All before they open the flood gates and go full throttle with ‘El Magico’! Well, my left foot was tapping violently along to the infectious pace and rhythm, which says a lot for the impact this had on me! Though at this stage, listener fatigue does start to creep in. It feels as though ideas are being stretched too far in an attempt to build intrigue and tension but without the huge cathartic payoff nor crescendo that should come with it. It has to be worth a listeners time to commit their attention to nearly 10 minute songs afterall. Whilst Viscera shows promise in “4. Assets For
Psychedelic Warfare”, ultimately post metal is a difficult genre to master and the Italians fall a little short here.
For all the latest news, reviews, interviews across the heavy metal spectrum follow THE RAZORS’S EDGE on facebook, twitter and instagram.
