(c) Stefan Duscio
Is this already considered a comeback? They may have reduced their studio output, but they were whole Lo! never gone Yes, five and a half years have passed since “Vestigial”, but the Aussies continued to work diligently on their jet-black, grueling sludge interpretation. The search for freedom and truth, far removed from conspiracy theories, accompanies the new work „The Gleaners“which more than ever ventures into human abysses.
The title song illustrates perfectly how broken it looks there. “The Gleaners” take a proud eight minutes for his descent, looking for wounds and placing several fingers in them with breathtaking precision. Between frontal, almost doomy attacks and meditative to searching interludes, the epic is accompanied by nervous energy. “Mammon’s Horn” is only slightly shorter, but builds up powerful, almost impenetrable walls right from the start. Between scrubbing passages where drums and bass are alone, brute sludgecore attacks and disturbing clean vocals that almost sound like angels towards the end, this monstrosity has it all.
Of course, the short, frontal attacks also last as usual. After the short “Our Fouling Larder”, with its one and a half minutes located somewhere between intro and mini neck smack, “Salting The Earth” immediately goes full steam ahead, shows the middle finger and lets the Blackened Sludgecore rumble through with chaotic violence. Hoarse screams, angry guitars and high tempo take no prisoners. This initially seems to apply to “Deafening Bleats Of Apathy” as well, but then, eventually, several caesuras unfold with ominous calm and some vocals. The track sways back and forth, riding the powder keg and bringing the creativity of Lo! to the foaming point in 192 seconds.
Precise and concentrated, the Australians continue to expand their wild, frenzied sound and try more extremes than ever. The furious, fast-paced rumble remains when Lo! insert the turbo and disassemble everything, but in the end it is “only” one ingredient among many, a pleasant side effect in a sea of chaos. More doom, more tough energy, more blackened chaos, but also a fine silver lining accompany “The Gleaners”, with which the quartet levels off at a damn high, pleasantly grueling level.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: 07.04.2023
Available through: Pelagic Records (Cargo Records)
Website: lookandbehold.net
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lookandbehold
Category: Magazin, Reviews
