Full of Hell

Amber Mote in the Black Vault (2016)

Maximillian Power

Full of Hell are a self-described grindcore band that primarily operate within the hardcore scene. They play a very fast and dirty punk/hardcore influenced form of grind. It is abrasive and chaotic and if you are into that sort of thing they are definitely worth a listen.

Amber Mote in the Black Vault is a short E.P. featuring four tracks, the longest of which clocks in at a whopping two minutes and three seconds. Included within the four songs is a cover of The Melvin’s song “Oven”, which although considerably different from the original version, is a nice addition to the short E.P. Full of Hell does a great job at enhancing the choppy heavy ending of the song. I can’t say for sure if the cover would make The Melvin’s proud, but I don’t believe it would offend them either.

Describing the music itself is a bit difficult, I could say it as angry, aggressive, blistering, heavy or any other variety of typical adjectives used when describing heavy music, however I am going to avoid doing that and break it down further. Full of Hell’s music consists of extremely fast punk rock styled blast beats, followed up with ambient, eerie two step style heavy parts, with an occasional choppy punk beat thrown in for variety; it is a simple formula, but the band seem to make it work.

While many people other than extreme metal fans might overlook this E.P., the musicianship, especially the skill of the drumming is nothing to sneeze at. The drumming is extremely fast and precise, and I can say with certainty that this dude hits the skins hard as hell. The raw and real sound of the instruments is a highlight as opposed to the computer-enhanced, obviously triggered sound many death metal bands rely on to sound sharp.

Full of Hell have added Amber Mote in the Black Vault to their growing list of releases and while it isn’t necessarily reinventing the wheel, it is a success as far as ferocity and skill are concerned. It isn’t perfect, it isn’t punk rock, but it definitely isn’t bad.