Red Harvest
Sick Transit Gloria Mundi
Nocturnal Art
Red Harvest are back with yet another album of industrial trash metal, and this is surely their finest hour yet. Growing increasingly more complex, the Norwegian five-piece is also more brutal and uncompromising than ever before, with this album adding both black and grindcore to an already punishing recipe. A conceptual album of sorts, it is still hard to discern a clear narrative on here, and the album is a rather frightening detailing of man in a state of self-inflicted decay and apathy. No less. Plus, we get a fair cover version of good old “Dead Men Don’t Rape” to prove that their hearts are in the right place.
A heavy and furious album if ever there was one, Red Harvest dare include more hypnotic and droning arrangements as well this time around, as if they’ve grown more assure of who they are and less inclined to play by the rules of metaldom. It’s a brave move and one echoed in the band’s mature writing and complex arrangements. It has the potential of backfiring on them, though: the album is almost too considered for its own good, too planned and controlled. You’ll catch yourself wishing for some abandonment and uncontrolled outbursts on here, although Red Harvest may reasonably argue that that’d run contrary to the entire idea behind the album.
As it is, this is ultimately a self-de(con)structive project, with the music embracing the very images of dissolution of self and of organic coherency and independence that the lyrics conjure. And while that doesn’t necessarily make for great music, Red Harvest’s considered and brutal thinking-man’s metal ensures that interest is maintained throughout. A crowded and layered album, it’s hard to take this in one sitting. Red Harvest demand your full attention and come out looking all the better for it.
Nocturnal Art Productions: http://www.nocturnalart.com
