Rune "The End of Nothing" CD
[Willowtip]
I didn't know what to expect from this really, I've heard Rune's prior work, but I was getting the impression from people that not only was this record good, but that it was sort of in a different league compared to their past work. And for the most part that's a fair assessment. Hell, "An Affinity" kicks things off at 7+ minutes beginning with a unique clean passage that leads into some pounding yet melodic sludge type riffing (complete with dual guitar and bass harmonization) that wouldn't sound out of place on a Crowbar record - except for the vicious vocal screams. Then it shifts into blazing grindcore with tons of drum fills and quick changes and sort of "starts over" - a fucking incredible lead track, definitely unexpected. "Opium for My Soul" continues in a similar vein, though in my opinion the dissonant guitar lines are even more impressive. There's still a lot of speed at times, but damn if I don't fucking love the slower parts a whole lot by comparison! "Babylon Burning" breaks off some blazing solos, another unexpected twist; and at damn near 10 minutes "This Sorrow" kicks out a sweet clean break about halfway through with some synths as added texture that gives way to destructive doomy chord progressions and eerie feedback. I definitely pick up a Morbid Angel influence to the music, think "Covenant", but a little bit quirkier and without the super polished recording. The weirdest thing about this disc is that the short songs feel almost as long as the lengthy ones, or vice versa, as the longer tracks don't really feel that long. "Wilt" is the absolute classic of the record, though... everything about is complete and utter mastery. Recording-wise everything sounds pretty good, something's a little off, but barely. I'd probably up the bass a bit since the bassist is great and the basslines are important. The drums are rigid but I'm not bothered by that, and the guitar tone is heavy and sort of has a rough bite, but again I'm not annoyed there. The vocals are all somehow a little separated from the music, so I think my key suggestion would be to unify the mix a bit to minimize the space between elements and make things sound more whole. But that's really all. There are some tuning issues in the otherwise impeccable "Leaving Form", but I think that's the only track where such a likely unintentional subtlety jumps out at me. The layout is very cool, layering repeating images of trees, anatomical diagrams, worn metal, illegible handwriting, and various scratchy textures. The outer booklet is darker, and the inside is an inverted version of similar imagery that is largely white. All of the lyrics are included and I like most of the content, which tends to deal with an almost apocalyptic worldview based around greed, ignorance, etc. "Intentions grow weak. Ambitions begin to fade. Searching for closure. Within the reach of another existence. One day this nightmare will end. Leaving this life's perils behind. Withering away." This is definitely Rune's most technical and interesting work to date. I do find the speed a bit tiresome to be honest, it rarely excites me in the way that the sheer force of the moderately paced riffing does. I just feel that those slower passages have so much more feeling across the board, whether they're heavy, calm, experimental, whatever. If this entire record was devoid of grind influences it would be absolutely stellar. But fuck, either way it's awesome, and I bet their next record will be the one that decimates everything. (7/10)
Running time - 46:36, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Opium for My Soul, Wilt, Leaving Form]
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