This is the debut album from Geist, a hardcore band from the UK.
Mixing dark hardcore, metal, and crust, this is 26 minutes of near-lightless harshness.
The music is filled with distorted darkness and abrasive chaos. The band balance mayhem with structure, walking a fine line between the two to produce songs that rip and tear through the playing time, but remain largely coherent throughout. The band’s ferocity is tamed and channelled into songs that are punishing, negatively charged, and very heavy.
The album is powered by riffs that are hostile and angular, yet strangely emotive in places. Amidst the general carnage of this release you can find some nuance built into the music here and there, with the band injecting depth via subtleties of the guitars. For the drums and vocals no such subtleties exist, and it’s harsh punishment all the way. Geist know how to knit these elements into a destructive framework that delivers songs you have to move to in order to avoid being crushed by them. With poisoned groove and sharpened beat the songs are unfriendly and nasty, while also being effortlessly enjoyable, at least to my ears.
Although I’ve heard good things about Geist in the past, this is my first exposure to them. Swarming Season is a storming, blistering album, one which I demand you get to know.
