Review Summary: Trumpeting ecstasy, on Knoll’s terms
Of all the words that might be found in a deathgrind review thesaurus, "beauty" would probably be much lower on the list than such well-worn and beloved adjectives as “pummeling”, “unhinged” and the ubiquitous “brutal”. The beauty (yes, beauty) of Metempiric is in the cohesion between composition and utter chaos that are woven into its onslaught, a cohesion that is carried off both through the formidable technical ability of Knoll’s musicians and its conceptual unity. That this melding comes across as the product of an impressive artistic maturity belies the fact that Knoll’s oldest member is under 24, and its youngest is still in his teens. In spite of this relative youthfulness, Knoll approach their subject matter from a surprisingly philosophical viewpoint. The limitations of the human framework are the running theme of Knoll’s music, the disjunction between the human ego and his ultimate significance in a universe beyond all understanding. The continuing sense that I got throughout Metempiric was that of drowning in a maelstrom, being pulled into a vast, whirling assault on mind and body that nonetheless was only the product of the laws of physics, laws that don’t know or care about the fact that they are ripping apart a life. It’s a humbling, terrifying, exhilarating aesthetic, and one that Knoll carry off with aplomb.
Jamie’s vocal performance is among the most demented things you will hear this year, whether it’s a guttural roar or a feral shriek into the blackness, while the rest of the band sprints across that tightrope of chaotic noise and technical structure with an almost elemental ferocity. While it’s still pretty clear that Full of Hell are still the primary taking off point for Knoll’s music, Metempiric takes a more expansive, cavernous tack with their sound, more in keeping with their brand of cosmic terror. And, to be frank, where the influences converge more directly, Knoll seem committed to outdoing their forebears at their own game, whether in ferocity, sheer technicality or conceptual depth. From the fierce, immediate blast to the face of Clepsydra, to the sludgy, abyssal roar of Throe of Upheaval, carried by the wailing, frantic trumpet that acts as the album's lietmotif, to the utterly bleak interlude Dislimned, not a moment on Metempiric feels like a retread of Knoll's influences, but rather an outgrowth and a progression.
As the relentless 33 minute plunge into darkness runs its course, it seems at times that the whole endeavor is in danger of collapsing under its own weight and momentum. Metempiric does feels like an endurance test at times, in spite of its brevity, as the vision of the abyss that Knoll have created becomes a little uncomfortable to keep gazing into. There’s a palpable sense of claustrophobia throughout, made no less potent by scattered interludes that serve to punctuate the sense of cosmic dread, rather than offer any breathing space. The wailing trumpet interspersed through the album and struggling to pierce through a miasma of malevolent ambience is a desolate thematic reminder of Knoll’s big recurring motif: human insignificance in the face of a vast, incomprehensible universe. One of Metempiric’s great strengths is how seamlessly this theme is married to the maelstrom of dissonance and noise that is the music, and the total lack of respite throughout renders this nihilist vision all the more palpable. All Full of Hell comparisons aside, merited as they may be, Knoll have crafted an abyssal vision that more than stands on its own merits. Just hope the abyss doesn’t start gazing back.
