The Pitch: Nuclear War Now! presents Portland blackened deathgrind band Knelt Rote’s fourth album, Alterity, on vinyl. "The devastation wrought by the incessant percussive barrage and grinding guitars on Alterity is matched by the dark introspection into the human condition that it endeavors to navigate." FFO: Vermin Womb, Misrule, Wake
What I Like: This isn't an album. It's a massacre. It's a physical and mental purge of all of the built up excrement. The best way I can think to describe it is Vermin Womb meets early Gorgoroth. You get all of the muddy deathgrind elements of the former, right down to the gutteral vocals, but also some very prominent black metal riffs. Furthermore, the ugly production job would be right at home in the 2nd wave scene. This unholy union makes for a particularly venomous, blastbeat-driven crash course in terror with a few thrashy guitar solos thrown in to boot. Knelt Rote aren't a band; they're an experiential colon cleanse. In 22 minutes, Alterity does more damage than a thousand molotov cocktails. It will burn your world to the ground.
Critiques: This isn't an album for "oooh's" and "aahs." Again, there are other deathgrind bands out there pushing boundaries. Knelt Rote get some etra props for the inclusion of black metal elements, but this is still mostly a "don't mess with a good thing" situation.
The Verdict: The way some are refreshed by a cold drink of water after a long hike, I find myself rejuvenated by a concise metal album that plays to its strengths. Alterity understands fully what it is and never overstays its welcome. The songs are fast, vicious, sometimes technical, and most importantly, to-the-point. Knelt Rote are not to be trifled with.
Flight's Fav's: Lachesis, Genetic Memory, Othering
-Review by FlightOfIcarus
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