Band: Brotherhood Of The Lake
Release: Desperation Is The English Way Vol.2 (Album)
Release Date: 18/03/2013
‘Hey bro, check my band out, we’re super heavy, sick drops, rad beats and we’ve got a graffiti logo!’…’Hey dude, that’s cute, have you listened to Brotherhood Of The Lake?‘.
On 18th March 2013, Brotherhood Of The Lake are set to put out ‘Desperation Is The English Way Vol.2‘, the second and penultimate part of what is essentially a double record, the first part of which was released early last year.
Clocking in at around the twenty four minute mark, the record opens with ‘Untie The Tempest‘, an abrupt, tense, savage piece with the hook ‘There is no hope for you‘, rebounding perpetually, setting the listener in perfect stead for what is the remainder of a record based around abasement and a nation that feels the need of constant adoration.
‘Grief Ritual‘ is condemning and untamed, dropped guitars and the ruling presence of bass guitar pays homage to the crust punk/crust metalcore genres; fast, bass-heavy and entirely unpolished. The guest vocals of Jamie Burne from Welsh hardcore troop Bastions work perfectly alongside the voice of Robert Clark, adding a strange sort of dynamic zest even though both voices are low in pitch.
It is necessary to note that if you are expecting to listen to ‘Desperation Is The English Way Vol.2‘ and have your ears pleasured with glossy guitars, pinch harmonics and clicky double-bass drumming, you will be left bereft as there is a deliberately unclean coating to this record, the production is brilliantly feculent, stripped-down and impure.
The terrifyingly crestfallen latter half of ‘To Stop Breathing‘ lures us into the merciless ‘Live In Fear Of Everything‘ before we are stopped in our tracks with ‘Black Gates‘, a chilling, unnerving yet weirdly calming ‘heartbeat-in-your-mouth’ kind of three minutes before slamming at ridiculous miles an hour into ‘Torment‘.
‘Live In Fear Of Nothing‘ is prophetic and ominous, the words ‘This will be the death of you‘ continue to resonate as we are transported like lambs to slaughter to the end of this record with ‘The English Way‘, arguably one of – if not the – grimiest fucking thing that has ever been created and as the track ends with the words ‘If all you have is hope, let go‘, it’s safe to say that Brotherhood Of The Lake have certainly written the darkest, bleakest, heaviest record of this year and it’s only February. You won’t hear anything as austere and unsettling for a very, very long time. No hope.
10/10
Reviewer: Luke Davis
