This post was originally published on this site
New York based four-piece FALSE GODS formed in 2015. Blending several aspects of modern heavy music from sludge to hardcore. They’ve cultivated a force of bleak aggression behind their music which propels their songs with a ferocious intensity. Unfiltered and unrelenting in their presence, they do not make music to provide escapism. Rather, they take the rawest of emotions, craft them into a baseball bat and then launch an aural assault. Latest offering Lost In Darkness And Distance is no exception. Expect formidable riffs, pounding rhythms and an atmosphere conjured from uncompromising compositions.
As alluded to. FALSE GODS do not create music to wrap you up in warmth and soothe the troubled soul. Instead, as is immediately apparent with Voice Of Treason they take grief and torment and super charge them with aggression. The feeling of morose is flipped on its head to deliver angry catharsis. An impressive wall of sound, multi layered and pummelling kicks off the album and establishes the stance that FALSE GODS are taking. The elements of hardcore and sludge combine to create an atmosphere of discomfort, projecting the emotive senses to respond on a visceral level.
What is inescapable is how loud this record is. Not just in terms of sonic assault but the power behind the wrenching emotion conveyed throughout each song. Everything aligns to create a tumultuous presence that leaves the listener in little doubt of FALSE GODS’ prowess when it comes to creating heavy music. From the tracks such as Suffering In A Strange Land through to the visceral Death Is Listening, audiences will be treated to a brutal tour of sorrow. The latter of those tracks incorporates some haunting elements to truly open the depths, yet the cascading riffs and pummelling drums backing up the gutturals will stop any slide into a catatonic despair and instead encourage a flare of defiance.
While there is barely restrained belligerence and a high level of disconcertment throughout the album. The seven tracks on offer demand rapt attention and are unrelenting from the first note to the last. All-encompassing and at times oppressive, with songs like The Enemy That Never Was and Imposter, the band are still able to illustrate their impressive compositional skills. Intricately laced melodies and rhythms are just as prevalent and important to their musical delivery as the pulverising riffs and sledgehammer gutturals. With that said, there is nothing delicate about Lost In Darkness And Distance. It’s a wrecking ball.
While this album may be laced with anguish and misery, FALSE GODS pull no punches. This is not a collection of songs for introspective maudlin. Rather, Lost In Darkness And Distance is the sonic equivalent of being smacked with a piece of 2×4 with despair scrawled across it. It’ll leave audiences breathless with its crushing power, yet the counterbalance of engaging lyrics and moments of intense emotive power mark this out as a true heavyweight record for 2025.
Rating: 8/10
Lost In Darkness and Distance is out now via self-release.
Like FALSE GODS on Facebook.
The post ALBUM REVIEW: Lost In Darkness And Distance – False Gods appeared first on Distorted Sound Magazine.
