Drouth‘s new album has bite.
For the release of The Teeth of Time, their third album, Matt Stikker (guitar/vocals, Iron Scepter, ex-Arterial Spray), Patrick Fiorentino (drums, Scourge Schematic, ex-Uada), John Edwards (guitar, ex-Spectral Tombs) and Matt Solis (bass, Ursa, ex-Cormorant) sign up with Eternal Warfare Records.
Hurl Your Thunderbolt Even Unto Death opens with a haunting sweetness, but it doesn’t take long for the unhealthy, aggressive darkness to surface and invade the atmosphere, becoming even more present when the vocal parts strike back. There’s a touch of melancholy in the piercing harmonics, but the track remains focused on violence, as does False Grail, the following track, which continues in this vein and even picks up the pace. Black Metal touches make the mix heavy, letting the apocalypse progress with heady melodies before slowing down to stun us before giving way to the eponymous track, The Teeth of Time, which under the guise of aggression also reveals more bewitching touches. Although the track is longer than its predecessors, it pours out its fury very steadily before finally bringing its leads to the fore on the final section, which leads to Through a Glass, Darkly and its dissonant misty touches that populate almost the entire composition. There’s of course the underlying violence and growls, as well as the lively but jerky patterns that eventually join the silence before leaving Exult, Ye Flagellant, which starts very slowly and anchors us in its oppression before setting off again at an already more usual and virulent pace, but also slower, mysterious passages such as towards the center of the track where the sound becomes misty again, then rushes towards its finale.
I discovered Drouth with this album, and the heavy sound of The Teeth of Time immediately spoke to me. The album won’t be to everyone’s taste, but its darkness will appeal to even the most hardened listeners.
90/100