Filth Is Eternal - ‘Find Out’ review
Filth is Eternal by Joshua Simons
Seattle has long been a breeding ground for musical innovation, and raw energy. The once bound (wink*), now freed Filth is Eternal are dropping a bomb on the scene with their newest effort Find Out. Here’s what we thought of the release, it's a journey.
Opening track, 'Half Wrong', is the "all right" way to kick things off. It's a quick romp that encapsulates the album's sense of chaos and cohesion in under two minutes. This is a gunshot of an opening track that builds an atmosphere better than most veterans of the scene can. Follow-up track "Crawlspace" is an old school trip that the group dropped a psychedelic music video for back in June. This track captures the essence of impermanence, again only clocking in at a minute and a half. Short tracks carry the immediacy of the album, not to mention some banging riffs that showcases Brian McClelland.
"Magnetic Point" channels the spirit of Seattle's "Don't give a f***" attitude in a minute-ten. It may sound unpolished on the surface as part of the sprint of Find Out but has more to it when you actually look at its content. This is a trend that continues into the song ‘Cherish’. Nothing this group does ever comes across as meaningless. They dropped a stellar black and white surrealist music video for this days ago on Sept 25th. Lyric wise this is a high point for Front person Lis Di Angelo. It's a deeply aware, concept-heavy track, and that's reflected in Di Angelo being the main performative force in materials online. For a second this is less about hardcore punk aggression and more about what's said.
One of the standout tracks of the album does have to be track 6, "Roll Critical". This channels a "Bleach" era Nirvana vibe. That's not a comparison I want to beat over the head, but it seems more justified here than anywhere else. Both bands are a melting pot of genres and influences to churn out some absolute bangers. Given that Filth recorded Find Out at Dave Grohl's 606 Studio no less, it seems like a fair comparison. Things then dive right back into the crusty side with the duo "Curious Thing" and "Into The Curve". These paired very well with each other as a set of hardcore punk anthems. These two in particular are a great showcase for drummer Emily Salisbury's prowess on the kit.
"Pressure Me," is the final track off the album to get the music video treatment. Since dropping in August, it has out-performed 'Crawlspace' on Spotify, as well as amassing as many views on Youtube. I can imagine it will be a no frills battering of a song in their live set. It is impressive that this was allegedly composed very late on in the album process. This is likely to be a favourite track for a few listeners. It has the analytics to back it up as well (nothing says “punk” like analytics). "Body Void" and "The Gate" are intriguing departures to follow after that banger. These two offer a taste of almost hard rock but maintain Di Angelo's personal touch. It felt ironic that the lyric "spending too much time in my head" was on repeat for a while for me. These were a memorable duo, and I'd love to see how these go live as they've been on recent setlists
"Signal Decay" is a personal favourite. A bit slower, and a bit longer, neither of which are a bad thing, this feels like a rounded-out track and a more complete package that stands out on the album. It would seem that Find Out aspires to give a fan whiplash, as 'All Mother' follows and it's not a basic hardcore track. 'All Mother' showcases Di Angelo's versatility, starting with a softer, more spoken style early on. This makes way for some gut wrenching screams and an excellent breakdown. With the group as a four-piece, this is their tightest song. 92 seconds of ferocity.
The album concludes with 'Last Exit' and 'Loveless'. 'Last Exit’ is a very good, "late in the game" track. It's one of the chunkier compositions in the album, making Rahsaan Davis's presence felt on bass. "Loveless" closes the album in a dark and crusty manner right from the intro. You could forgive someone for expecting his song to descend into classic black metal. If they are going to be that melting pot of style I mentioned earlier, they may as well do it all the way. It's the longest track by hardcore standards, underscoring the band's disregard for boundaries. It doesn’t even feel right to market them by hardcore though as this album kind of does everything.
Filth is Eternal's Find Out is a lightning bolt of an album. It defies expectations, blends style, and has throwbacks to classics like Nirvana and Megadeth. This kind of intense unapologetic brevity isn't always for everyone, but this is great. Listen to Find Out to find out. Filth is Eternal is wrapping up some US dates with King Parrot before UK dates in November with Finch.
*Filth is Eternal existed before under the name “Fucked and Bound”.
Find Out from Filth Is Eternal is out now via MNRK Heavy.
