Full Of Hell burst forth with incredible force from Ocean City, Maryland, 15 years ago. Over five full-lengths, five collaborative full-lengths, and countless splits, EPs, singles, and noise compilations, they’ve evolved at extraordinary speed, their music becoming more complicated and technical without ever slowing down or losing its soul. Everything on a Full Of Hell album feels like a blur: smears of guitar, harsh noise shaken like gravel in a bag, singer Dylan Walker’s snarl and bite carrying him into outer space or into the core of the earth. They’re coiled, interlocking, impossible to penetrate, and they move with alarming speed. They have now reached terminal velocity.
Having created their own context, Full of Hell are now able to walk around within it, to survey its terrain, to visit far corners and see who’s nearby. Their new album, Coagulated Bliss— out today on Closed Casket Activities— sounds like Full of Hell, but it’s nothing like any Full of Hell record that’s come before it. These songs are trimmer, less freighted with anxiety, more interested in opening up than speeding away. Its bile is sometimes funneled into traditional song structures. It never shies away from the extreme harsh noise, unrelenting spirit, and pitch-black sadness of previous Full of Hell records; if anything, the leanness of these songs makes them feel even heavier. Nevertheless, there are tracks here you might find yourself whistling hours after listening. It’s an extraordinary and unexpected evolution in sound for a band who made their name on rapid metamorphosis, and it’s the logical endpoint of everything Full Of Hell has covered so far.
For release day, the band has shared a music video for "Fractured Bonds To Mecca." The video's concept was co-written by Full of Hell multi-instrumentalist Sam DiGristine who says the video is "...about an endless cycle of struggle, trying to find your way in a familiar place yet still feeling lost. Alienated by your loved ones and giving it all for a chance at salvation. Inspired by films such as ' The Incredible Melting Man,' 'The Holy Mountain' and 'Altered States.' The journey never ends. The cycle continues."
Dylan Walker continues, “This song is about a genetic curse. Having to live through inherited flaws and bearing witness to your own familial destruction. Lyrically, it’s very inspired by Thee Silver Mt. Zion at their darkest and most honest moments, speaking about our own inhumanity.”
Coagulated Bliss can be ordered here. See Full Of Hell on the road in April + May with Dying Fetus (dates below) and look for more news soon.
Coagulated Bliss,cover art by Brian Montuori.
Coagulated Bliss tracklisting:
"Half Life Of Changelings"
"Doors To Mental Agony"
"Transmuting Chemical Burns"
"Fractures Bonds To Mecca"
"Coagulated Bliss"
"Bleeding Horizon"
"Vomiting Glass"
"Schizoid Rupture"
"Vacuous Dose"
"Gasping Dust"
"Gelding Of Men"
"Malformed Ligature"
"Coagulated Bliss" video:
"Doors To Mental Agony" video:
Full Of Hell is Spencer Hazard (guitar/electronics), David Bland (drums/vocals), Samuel DiGristine (bass/sax/vocals), and Dylan Walker (vocals/electronics/lyrics), with new guitarist Gabriel Solomon joining following the album’s completion.
Full Of Hell tour dates:
April
26 - Sayerville, NJ - Starland Ballroom ^
27 - Syracuse, NY - The Song & Dance ^
28 - Albany, NY - Empire Live ^
30 - Quebec City, QV - Theatre Capitole ^
May
1 - Montreal, QC - Beanfield Theatre ^
2 - Ottawa, ON - The Brass Monkey ^
3 - London, ON - London Music Hall ^
4 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre ^
5 - Buffalo, NY - Electric City ^
7 - Pontiac, MI - The Crofoot Ballroom ^
8 - Columbus, OH - The King of Clubs ^
9 - Joliet, IL - The Forge ^
10 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave ^
12 - Winnipeg, MB - Park Theatre ^
13 - Saskatoon, SK - Louis ^
14 - Edmonton, AB - The Starlite Room ^
15 - Calgary, AB - The Palace Theatre ^
17 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw Theatre ^
18 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon ^
19 - Portland, OR - Roseland Theater ^
July
13 + 14 - Los Angeles, CA - Exposition Park (Sound & Fury)
^ with Dying Fetus
(Photo - Zachary Jones)