While I still mentally tag Cloud Rat as a grind act, with this latest LP at least they seem to be exploring terrain that’s both excitingly different and yet a logical continuation of what’s gone before. It’s still harsh, heavy and hyper aggressive, but the guitar sound (beefy; direct; menacing) reminds more of something like Left For Dead while the subtle ambient/noise workings add another dimension to the frenzied brutality. Madison Marshall’s ground-razing vocals remain the bedrock on which all this devastation is based, questioning and hectoring by way of tormented snarls and rasps that’ve been dredged up from some dark, sinister pit. More than just an explosion of noise and heaviosity things are layered, textured and make clear sense as they’re carefully pieced together, all of which makes ‘Qliphoth’ an arch and accomplished release that satisfies on an immediate, primal level but, like the work of Converge or Full Of Hell, begs far closer attention if you’re to truly get the most from it.
