This is a split between Portugal’s Process of Guilt and Switzerland’s Rorcal.
Rorcal’s contribution to the split is 15 minutes of anguished, Blackened chaos.
On their previous album Vilagvege they had a Blackened element to their sound, with dark atmospheres and Black Metal-laced blasting appearing in places; on this split they appear to have embraced this bitingly harsh side of their sound to a greater deal and these three songs have a much stronger Black Metal influence. Having sampled the whirlwind Rorcal seem to have liked their taste of the darkness.
The Sludge is still here though. Blast beats there may be but they also slow things down to let the listener really feel the despair. At least for a short while.
I like Rorcal a lot and think that no matter whether they play fast or slow they have a talent for sounding both evil and agonised at the same time.
The first half of the split is a triumph then.
Having never encountered Process of Guilt before – what of the second half?
Process of Guilt’s contribution to the split is three tracks of Atmospheric Doom Sludge lasting 17 minutes.
They start with harsh screams that seem to escape from the void of negativity that the band shroud themselves with. They have a good sound that veritably screams for the apocalypse to happen and the hammering guitars combined with the very emotive and atmospheric aura of misery that they perpetuate is a treat to listen to.
Deeper, grimmer vocals share stage with these otherworldly shrieks to create a well rounded vocal package that complements the professional delivery of the band. This is Sludge to fall in love with.
Process of Guilt combine the abrasive, twisting parts of Neurosis, the relentless heaviness of Celeste and the dark, gritty atmospheres of Burning Witch to create 17 minutes of feedback-drenched Hell that any Sludge/Doom fan couldn’t help but fall for.
A 32 minutes split featuring quality bands and songs. What’s stopping you from getting this right now?