Still – A Theft (Review)

Still are a post-black metal band from the UK and this is their second album.

Still boast a fierce, ugly sound that’s equal parts black metal, sludge, and hardcore, resulting in a post-blackened 35-minute burst of punishment that’s damaging, yet moreish. The more Still scar and brutalise you, the more you want more.

A Theft may be hostile, but it is not one-dimensional in its viciousness. Still offer up a bleak mix of chaotic hardcore intensity, avant-garde black metal dissonance, and malignant sludge heaviness that’s abrasive and harsh, but it is not without layers, intricacy, or varying textures.

Still attack the listener with venomous claws, dragging them down with feral strength. They’re not without self-discipline or thought though, as they frequently pull the killing blow until it’s time to unleash a truly lethal assault. In this way, A Theft benefits from dynamics, well-judged restraint, and an understanding of build/release mechanics. Still go straight for the jugular regularly across this collection of malevolent songs, but they also take the time to build atmospheric darkness, threat-filled tension, walls of sludge heaviness, and the sort of claustrophobic dissonance that reaches out of the speakers and grabs you by the throat, suffocating you with its impenetrable iron grip.

A Theft is an intense listening experience, but a rewarding one. Still have an appeal beyond the purely dissonant. The raging darkness at the heart of the music cannot be contained by this aspect alone, instead finding expression in dark hardcore and tar-thick sludge that both support and make war upon the avant-garde elements with murderous intent. In this way a violent balance is struck, resulting in A Theft‘s scathing extremity.

If you are a fan of bands such as Plebeian Grandstand, This Gift Is a Curse, Calligram, Pyrrhon, Jute Gyte, Scarcity, Theophonos, Celeste, Cowards, Hexis, and Ὁπλίτης, then this is one you won’t want to miss.