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| Artwork by Mel Mongeon |
Canada’s Fuck the Facts have long been known for their intensity both in the live environment and on record. Having witnessed them perform in the most intimate of spaces (a living room) I can attest to that. Their ability to bring that energy into the studio is what has positioned FtF as one of Canada’s greatest current metal exports but also as a well respected entity outside those borders. While they haven't rested on their laurels, new album Desire Will Rot is the first time they've captured the magic on a full-length record since 2011’s Die Miserable. It seems like forever but the Ottawa-based grindcore quintet has lost none of the fire that made that album so good.
With a band like FtF one can never be too sure of what to expect. Desire Will Rot makes good on that statement adding some surprising elements to their potent mix of grind and death metal. But of course, save the nearly 8-minute ambient/noise track "Circle", the intensity rarely lets up ensuring maximum aural carnage.
From the opening track, "Everywhere Yet Nowhere" the fierceness of their grind slaps the listener right in the face. Vocalist Mel Mongeon and bassist/vocalist Marc Bourgon trade off his low growls with her feral screams, sending heartbeats racing as guitarists Topon Das and Johnny Ibay try keeping pace with drummer Mathieu Vilandre. This tornado of hateful emotion continues unchecked in one form or another throughout the album. Except the aforementioned (but still cool) "Circle".
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| Photos © John Mourlas. All rights reserved. |
Fuck the Facts plunge headlong from one riff to another leaving a stream of twisted bodies in their wake. Much of the time the mood is just plain mean even though the members are anything but. However, they never stick to one mode for too long, shifting from grinding blasts to groovy death metal to powerful doom, often in the same, short song. That’s where they excel though.
Stitching together disparate elements, multitudes of riffs and moods as effortlessly as they do is what sets them apart. No matter how abrupt the change it always feels natural. Instead of alienating the listener by keeping them constantly off balance, they reward them with yet another intense section to sink their moshing teeth into.
"Storm of Silence" illustrates this point (and the unexpected element) perfectly. Ascendant guitars reach beyond the pummeling deathgrind loaded with vicious intent and intense blasts to compound the cathartic release through a series of stops and starts culminating in a very non-grind shredding solo from Das. It’s the kind of track (along with its follow-up "Solitude") that keeps the listener guessing but not waiting.
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| Photos © John Mourlas. All rights reserved. |
Desire Will Rot just keeps getting stronger as it goes along. "False Hope" is just outstanding. Das weaves intricacies and temperate melody into the violence. The inertial reaction to the whipping shifts in direction is almost sickening. Blasting grind meets death metal with brief room to breathe and massive hauling doom all tied together with a melody that makes it all feel so cleansing. If the album stopped right there it would feel right but it’s not called "False Hope" for nothing.
After "Circle" the album closes out with "Nothing Changes". Chugging rhythms and quiet/loud dynamics punish with melody bubbling beneath the dark surface. Overall it’s a different turn from the grinding nature but they put no less into it. Each successive note feels like another nail in the coffin until it abruptly rises from that eternal sleep with an air of triumph and unstoppable determination shaded by revenge.
Fuck the Facts, through Desire Will Rot are all about the intensity, creativity and uncompromised savagery. The only concessions they make are the ones they choose to and not without good reason. Every grinding blast, every death metal charge, every vocal growl or shriek stabs deep unleashing a flurry of emotions from violent to mournful. But one thing is for certain, you won’t stand still. The desire to throw yourself head first into any and every obstacle will rot within until it is fulfilled. Desire Will Rot is the sort of grindcore album that takes you over, and works you over until the final note. It’s inescapable.