Ehnahre, The Man Closing Up
The term “experimental death metal” can be applied in any number of ways to this Boston, Massachusetts band. Featuring ex-members of Kayo Dot, Biolich and forcefedglass, this quintet take elements of doom, death metal, ambient and sludge to an entirely different level. The band’s spastic, crushing and dissonant sound will turn your bowels inside out with ease as they shift from soul damning, suffocating doom to seizure-inducing rhythms with little to no transition.
Four of the five members of Ehnahre contribute guitar work while three of them add in their vocal treatment in a variety of styles ranging from deep, guttural gurgles to dissonant wales. The combination of the vocals leads to a rich and diverse layer of emotion and sound. Throw in some ambient keyboard work, orchestral backing pieces and some sludgy textures and you have The Man Closing Up — one hell of a debut release.
Part I
The disc opens up with spastic drum work and thick bass before slowing it down for deep, guttural vocals. The pace is slow and the sound heavy while the growls, bass and light drums work by themselves for the first 40 seconds before discordant guitar hits come in interspersed for the next minute or so. The riff work really gets going around the 1:30 mark with thick tones and dark notes. The pace picks up with another set of vocals just before the 1:50 mark to a steady beat. “Part I” definitely let’s you know what to expect for the rest of this album. Crushing guitars, shape shifting rhythms and caustic vocals in addition to plenty of texture and experimental elements.
Part II
After the seven and a half minute long opening track, the band picks back up with disturbing vocals and math inspired drumming as dissonant riffs deliver an insane madness in the background. When the deeper vocals come in, the riffs seem to organize themselves into crushing wave of sound. This one is a slowly paced monstrosity with sporadic experimental guitar tones, vocal deliveries and a suffocating feeling of doom and isolation. I love it!
Part III
After that crawling last track, “Part II” explodes with maniacal drumming and driving riffs along with gurgling vocals. There’s all sorts of guitar noise and instrumentation in the background adding to the chaotic feel of the first minute or so of this one. Just after the two minute mark the pace stops abruptly with light drum work and noise that builds to huge doomy riffs and a crawling pace. These guys certainly can do heavy. The crushing pace and guitar work continue with dissonant, ambient noise and heavy drums for the remaining six minutes.
Part IV
“Part IV” starts off quietly for the first minute and 20 second before a doomy, yet cleaner riff comes in with light drums. This one has a distant feel to it that never really comes too far forward until the 9:45 mark as spastic drumming and insane guitars come in out of no where. The pace is quickened sharply as tortured vocals scream and shout over the din of sadistic tempo shifts and noise. I love the heavy drum work at the 11:30 mark with the thicker riffs and pummeling bass as deep guttural, layered vocals pour from the speakers like liquid malevolence. The final two minutes are quiet and eerie.
Part V
The last track on this beast of a debut starts off with monstrously heavy guitars and angst fueled vocals. The riffs in the opening minute of this one are beyond huge in their sound. There’s also some interesting background noise added to this one that gives it an interesting sound. There’s all sorts of experimentation with the guitars and backing elements throughout this final track (horns, strings, textures). It’s also one of the richer sounding songs on the album.
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Man, this is one soul crushing listen. The Man Closing Up combines ginormous riffs, spastic rhythms and experimentation at every turn to build a wall of sound that will leave you a shell of your former self. These guys are pushing the envelope of metal in all the right directions.
Favorite Tracks:
All of them
Additional Notes:
N/A