I’m gonna be an insufferable hipster about this one: I’ve been listening to blackened deathcore before Lorna Shore made it cool. Hell, I was listening to the style before Will Ramos made Lorna Shore cool. Bands like The Breathing Process, early Make Them Suffer, and Dark Sermon were all rattling off their own takes on spooky corpse-painted Hot Topic-core in the early 2010s before some Hot Topic frequenter said “ooooh” and nabbed that Watain t-shirt they have on display while manically making pig noises to emulate “To the Hellfire.” Here we meet Drown in Sulphur, an Italian blackened deathcore act, who attempts their own spin on kvlt-y brutality.
Largely the problem with much of blackened deathcore is which blackened muse they worship – it ends up being mostly Dimmu Borgir or Cradle of Filth. As such, blackened deathcore can often be distilled into the definition “deathcore with symphonic synths” much of the time. Despite their attempt at conjuring the undead frigid atmosphere of 90’s second-wave, Drown in Sulphur largely falls into this category. Sophomore effort Dark Secrets of the Soul is all about exploration of the darkness of human nature, and while cloaked in brutality and opaqueness, there is a heart of beating melody that courses through its best. Ultimately, thanks to Dark Secrets of the Soul’s blend of melody, brutality, and atmosphere, Drown in Sulphur has promise.
The Italian collective’s bread and butter is crushing deathcore a la the classic Suicide Silence and Carnifex palette, balanced by dramatic synthwork, frenetic and multifaceted guitar work, and manic blastbeats and plods. Tracks like “Buried By Snow and Hail,” “Unholy Light,” and closer “Shadow of the Dark Throne” balance these elements beautifully, melodic motifs grounding the exploration into funereal dimensions with punishing viciousness, tasteful synths, and bouncy riffage. The corpse-painted elephant in the room is breakdowns, which Drown in Sulphur utilizes as moments of punishing clarity that feel like a reprieve from the symphonic saturation beatdown. Refusing to be pegged as a one-trick pony, the more meditative melodies of “Lotus” and “Dark Secrets of the Soul” are powerful and dynamic, guiding the movements to truly punishing pinnacles – even if the clean vocals of the former are hit or miss. Widely interspersed wailing guitar solos are largely successful, capitalizing on track growth, while vocalist Chris “Christ” Lombardo offers a filth-encrusted bellow and occasional shriek that adds to the dark atmosphere – a similar tone to Cabal’s Andreas Bjulver.
The glaring issue with Dark Secrets of the Soul is like many akin to the symphonically inclined -core abusers: monotony and saturation. Like Betraying the Martyrs or Ovid’s Withering’s weaker offerings, Drown in Sulphur regularly toes the fine line between drama and excess, leaning periodically into the latter. Tracks like “Eclipse of the Sun of Eden” and “Say My Name” are all-out bombasts of symphonic saturation and monotonous deathcore brutality that simply extend for far too long, the sense of overwhelm giving way to undeniable boredom and the sound overstaying its welcome. While intro “Adveniat Regnum Tuum” sets the tone nicely with distorted vocals and dark ambiance, interlude “Vampire Communion” serves no purpose, as follow-up “Shadow of the Dark Throne” features its own slow-burning crescendo anyway. While “Lotus” and “Shadow of the Dark Throne” offer some of the best melodies and balance of the album, questionable grungy cleans add a question mark to the former while a slam-influenced slog pumps the brakes on the latter’s momentum, a moment that is blessedly brief.
I’m unsure if Drown in Sulphur quite accurately embodies the “blackened deathcore” moniker as much as the “deathcore with synths” vibe. And that’s okay, because Dark Secrets of the Soul is a rock-solid deathcore album with a melodic thread woven into its infectious energy. While it can get too much periodically, and there are enough questionable decisions made to damage the album’s longevity, it remains a fun listen with plenty of dark atmosphere and filthy pummeling to spare. The “kvlt” is more an aesthetic than a sonic choice, but Dark Secrets of the Soul is tasteful and punishing enough to give Drown in Sulphur another spin or two.
Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256 kbps mp3
Label: Scarlet Records
Websites: drowninsulphurofficial.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/wedrowninsulphur
Releases Worldwide: January 12th, 2024
