Solace of Requiem’s Casting Ruin is Wonderfully Brutal

“Epic fucking brutality! These are the only words that can accurately describe Solace of Requiem.” Thanks, bio for Solace of Requiem!

But is true? Is SOR epic? Fucking? Brutal?

Sure. With caveats.

One decade and a couple o’ indie releases under their belt, SOR has grown some progressive chops. But maybe not to the level of “like classical music” they claim. The tunes on Casting Ruin are all pretty much death and technical speed with some unnecessary ornamentation: hey, an acoustic guitar! Water dripping sound effects! Bits of gothy atmosphere! Tribal drum outro! Just seconds here and there to pretty up the gloomy surroundings.

Otherwise: it’s ridiculous. As in ridiculous fast and tight and venomous. Venomous against whom: you know, the usual hard-to-fathom targets (“Pool the martyrs of attrition / Irrelevant to be in me / Insanity, Undone redemption / A clever whim forever gives / The wrath of wrong impression / And tainted be this reeking bile”… take that, bile pool!).

The music though: damn. “Songs of Shards” is the headbanger, a fast number that somehow grows in tempo. “Soiling the Fields of Putridity” is hellish noises overlaid on manic drums — and possibly the closest to the heretofore “classical” designation. And those drums really do dominate here: “Heaving Bile and Ash” and “Casting Ruins” are near clinics in percussion frenzy (kudos, drummer Dave Tedesco).

Solace of Requiem aren’t doing anything new: the screeches, howls and 300 bpm drums have been heard before. Not epic, but it is wonderfully brutal.

Maybe even wonderfully fucking brutal. I’ll give ‘em that.

Solace of Requiem’s Casting Ruin is out now on ViciSolum. You can listen to the song “Soiling the Fields of Putridity” here and purchase the album here.