Full of Hell – Garden of Burning Apparitions (Review)

This is the fifth album from US grindcore band Full of Hell.

Full of Hell have always impressed. Both 2017’s Trumpeting Ecstasy and 2019’s Weeping Choir did exactly that, and now they have returned with 21 minutes of new material. So, what dark delights does Garden of Burning Apparitions bring us?

Garden of Burning Apparitions is a treasure trove of grindcore, hardcore, noise, and death metal, as well as mathcore and noise rock. These increased latter influences are a welcome addition to the band’s virulent grind formula, adding a different aspect of sinuous vitality and energy to the band’s lethal sound. For a rough, (very rough), sound comparison, imagine Full of Hell but with more elements of bands like Converge, Brutal Truth, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Fantômas, and Jesus Lizard in their sound. Roughly.

Yes, this is an experimental record in a sense, as it sees Full of Hell pushing their boundaries once more. The band’s ferocity is a layered, multifaceted monster, and these new songs sparkle with twisted extremity born from a desire to not rest until new and disgustingly fertile ground has been ploughed. Of course, Full of Hell have always been ones to experiment and push boundaries, which is one of the reasons why they are so well-regarded; on Garden of Burning Apparitions they once again demonstrate how creative and individual their music is.

For a record as brief as this one, it contains a breadth of sound and style that’s remarkable. Ranging from sheer brutality to immersive atmosphere, and much between this, Full of Hell leave the vast majority of their peers in the dust as they execute a shockingly well-realised mixture of extreme music styles.

Garden of Burning Apparitions brings us another extremely strong album from Full of Hell. 2021 has been very light on grindcore, and I can only assume it is because everyone knew this record was going to come out, and decided that there was no point even trying to compete with it.

Essential listening.