Towers of Flesh – Antithetical Conjurations
The prolific drummer/guitarist/songwriter Anil Carrier produces new music on a scale enviable to most in the underground – the last few years have seen his participation in two releases by the Bolt Thrower-esque Binah, an EP by blackened death metal band The Solemn Curse, and yet another EP by black metal band Exsequor, amongst others. His latest brainchild, Antithetical Conjurations by the United Kingdom trio Towers of Flesh, mines his prodigious repository of riffage and content for an ore that is at once black, death, melodic/disharmonic, and composed. Judging by this and other releases, one could argue that Anil rejects the notion that extreme metal of this ilk should always be under-produced, as a cleanliness to the overall atmosphere permeates each track, but he smartly avoids over-compression or the nail-through-the-eardrum treble; the drum sounds are present and clear, but do not invade the space occupied by the midrange-y guitars, letting them billow outward in a sorrowful fog that, when not trichording or tremoloing, have classic metal-spiced solos and thrash-influenced rhythms that give the songs an emotional range extending beyond straight death metal’s hatred and rage. However, it is the moments of black metal dissonance Towers of Flesh brings to the table that adds a distinctness to the song structures and overall mix, bringing to mind echoes of Mayhem’s triumphant Order Ad Chao.
While the fetid genres Towers of Flesh cobble together are instantly recognizable and not entirely unique taken on their own, multiple playthroughs of Antithetical Conjurations reveal a maturity of composition and individuality that only comes with hours spent in dank rehearsal spaces and dimly lit studios. A glance through Anil’s discography – and an attentive listen to the new album – prove he’s done his time in both. Antithetical Conjurations earns those elusive qualities so often sought by a band but rarely achieved: to not be easily described or dismissed, and to be an elevation of one’s musical inspirations. -Jim
Candlelight Records
Worm Gear 