Employed To Serve - The Warmth Of A Dying Sun (Album Review)
Friday, 26 May 2017
Written by Alec Chillingworth
Heaviness isn’t really quantifiable. It can be sonic. Emotional. Lyrical. Employed To Serve’s second full-length, ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’, is all of those things. It is the definition of heaviness. That malnourished, yearning sun on the front cover? Heavy. The whispered opening gambit to Void Ambition: “I am a slave”? Heavy. The walls of noise, the barrage of brutality, the gut-gripping screams from Justine Jones? Heavy.
‘Greyer Than You Remember’ established Employed To Serve as dark lights in the UK hardcore scene two years ago, but ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ smashes all of their competition. The mathy, Converge-at-Alton Towers soundscapes have been bulked up and pumped full of whatever shit you use to get hench. This is technical hardcore with a massive emphasis on the hard.
Sometimes it’s the little things, like the way Richard Jacobs and Sammy Urwin bend their guitar strings on Void Ambition. It’s like being slammed on a bouncy castle made out of punji sticks.
But everyone gets their moment on this track, letting us know Employed To Serve aren’t here to mess about. Jones’ vocals are disgustingly harsh, Robbie Back’s drum roll before one of its innumerable breakdowns is stunning and Jamie Venning attacks his bass like it’s done him personal harm.
‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ is heavier, but not at the expense of dexterity. Platform 89’s tempo is shiftier than Donald Trump’s tax returns, yet it never seems jagged or forcibly ‘mathy’. Employed To Serve’s rhythm section is masterful, taking a progressive section into a full-on, groove metal skull-mashing without a moment’s notice.
Jones’ caustically catchy, piss-inducing screams never lose their impact because the music embellishing her work is just so varied. There’s a root sound that Employed To Serve have as their trademark, but they can do it all. Never Falls Far is an elegantly brutal, doom-laden number, while the show-stopping Apple Tree implements gorgeous acoustic passages to end the album in a manner that lesser bands would most certainly fuck up.
The title track sums up this album’s intentions best, though. Its depressing, gloomy monologue about being consigned to mediocrity ends with the line: “I became another dead tree in a forest of thousands.” But the band then launch into a gargantuan, near-seven minute display of ultimate sonic weight, encapsulating everything from the scratchiest hardcore to the gargantuan groove of bands like Mastodon and Gojira. They’ll never be dead trees in a forest of thousands.
Employed To serve have always been great. ‘The Warmth Of A Dying Sun’ makes them better than great, though. This record should be regarded as an instant classic and, arguably more importantly, it gives the band an even wider net to cast on album three. Invest in a neck brace by the time that one comes around.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
