Swim against the tide: Lo-fi glorious fun 7.5/10
This reeled me in, hook line and sinker. Described as ‘true aquatic death metal‘ this is more Zappa than Death in its avant-garde wryness.
Fishslaughter I is the debut offering by Connecticut based Fishslaughter (Please note, this is Fish-slaugter, not Fish’s laughter although the vengeance of our underwater friends will play heavily on your mind). This shoal comprises of bassist and vocalist Glub (the 37th Imperator of the Trout Order), POOT X a drummer and a rotating cast of their best friends/ worst enemies. Initially Glub and POOT X crossed paths as members of an improvisational jazz trio but as their creations were too hard and too aquatic to be ever be Jazz, they formed Fishslaughter. Glub, is a trout. POOT_X is a metronome that gained self-awareness after being left on at 666 BPM for too long.
Disillusioned with the way that so-called animal rights activists neglected the plight of the fish, the group decided that all of their funds would go towards aquatic conservation causes. Fishslaughter I was a benefit album for a Florida based sea-turtle conservation organization. (Their second album, Fishslaughter II, as well as their rap EP donate proceeds on to the Alaska Conservation Foundation.)
Opening with Fishslaughter 3.33 mins of groovy rhythmical melodic and surprisingly clever stoner death metal with humour. You vs The Octopus is a horrifying mini epic of doom laden horror, do you ever dream that your home is underwater and those magnificent, evolutionary anomalies that Ringo so sweetly sang about are just biding their time? Prowling. Their intelligence supersedes them and they will get in, they will find you. Or is it just me? I guess not as Fishslaughter have perfectly encapsulated this fear and inevitable end!
Yarm the Unspoken is a more guttural affair, giving voice and charm to an ancient underwater evil which is rising and much like Cthulhu, I like it. Fin Rot has an almost industrial gothic feel in its intensity ‘Fish remember , How you’ve wronged them’. Black Fish is a feisty slab of melodic, whispering, slithering death.
The Depths is an instrumental atmospheric drone, submerging your soul and inducing claustrophobia while Deathbox (Nevermore) is a positively upbeat synthwave goth death metal behemoth. Up From The Abyss a similarly paced undulating anthemic track to crush you in its tentacles. Challenger Deep swims against the tide in an apocalyptic maelstrom of destruction. Propelling you deeper into the abyss as the ocean consumes the Earth and the fish learn to take the land.
All in all, this is lo-fi glorious fun, just think of our chums…
Track Listing for Fishslaughter I
Fishslaughter
You vs the Octopus
Yarm the Unspoken
Fin Rot
Black Fish
The Depths
Death Box (Nevermore)
Up from the Abyss
Challenger Deep
Fishslaughter I is available here (with proceeds to conservation charities) : https://fishslaughter.bandcamp.com/album/fishslaughter-i-2
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