GRIEF - COME TO GRIEF (1994)
Stream from the Heavens is certainly a dark, contemplative listen that took death metal to a new, lumbering crawl. That record is surreal, cerebral and nightmarish. But it isn't caustic. It isn't angry, it's too alien for that.
If Thergothon is like being dragged to hell, Grief is like being submerged in acid and spending a few hours going there yourself. No synthesizers, no spooky reverb. This is a series of hateful, painful, misanthropic, and SEETHING dirges, most of which pretty much sound the same, which is exactly how I want them to sound. I love to submerge myself in fifty minutes of sonic hatred and despondency.
Grief isn't usually called a funeral band, and they don't make death metal. This is, in fact, a very very crust -tinged sound, with shrieked vocals (though the vocalist can make a variety of terrifying sounds), buzzing feedback, and unbridled anger. It's a specific kind of anger. Hatred that has become so total that it's crossed over into despair and suicidal, misanthropic depression. This is the sonic representation of loathing, suffering, and madness.
And that's about all it does. The riffs are mostly discordant and distressing, and what melodies the band does bring to the table mostly just sound like frostbite. Now and then we get hit with a groovier riff, but mostly this band doesn't so much rock and it looms. The lyrics are not having a good day. This is not hooky, friendly, or accessible music. It doesn't ****ing care if you like it. It's from bawston.
This is another example, along with Siege of a metal or hardcore band from Boston pushing the envelope to such an abrasive, toxic extent. The music is putrid and miasmic. Another album I use as a yardstick for heavy.
Fans of drone music and noise may appreciate this more than many metal listeners. Definitely an album for people who like it low, slow and caustic. And that funeral doom material is good and all, and some of it is very heavy, but I know whose side I'm on. Get bulldozed. If you like this, you need help.