Album/EP

INTERITUM - Forever. Silent. Broken (Album Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Mar 19, 2020

7 min read

INTERITUM - Forever. Silent. Broken
Released: March 23rd, 2020

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“There’s nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.” - Ansel Adams.

The above statement from the famed photographer and environmentalist stunningly encapsulates what Launceston’s self-professed Sludge Groove Doom Metal band Interitum are, because while their genre description is an accurate portrait of the quintet’s musical output, it is a too “sharper image”; there is considerably more involved and to their credit they have distorted or fuzzed up this illustration remarkably.

The best way to visualise the nine songs that make up Forever. Silent. Broken is that of a jigsaw - the five-piece have their outer border which can be the “Sludge”, “Groove” and “Doom” elements respectively, but cleverly the outfit insert pieces of other influences to build the centre which becomes Interitum. Honestly, their formula isn’t going to change the world of heavy metal, at times it becomes a difficult listen; however it does have numerous characteristics to recapture the listener and it is near-impossible to overlook.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgBk4xrLEog&w=560&h=315]

Opener ‘Submerged’ is not the defining song of the album nor of Interitum to be frank, it is the thunderclap that arrests the witnesses to this authority, which is overflowing with heavy metal prowess and diversity. Sections of doom metal laced with a haunting groove and Kel Barrett’s blues-driven wail pummel the listener who are then further shell-shocked by a whirlwind of thrash. It is an onslaught to undertake although it flawlessly personifies how accomplished the outfit can be.
‘Suck My Humanity’ is a particularly dreary and desolate affair that subscribes to the doom genre rather superbly with Mrs Barrett providing a witchy temperament with her delivery; ‘Fatal Life’ meanders and repeats itself as is common trait with the aforementioned genres, however it doesn’t resonate on the level of the finesse of what Sweden’s Draconian bestow onto the world. ‘Created And Rejected’ calls upon legends of the soundscape Electric Wizard, a very understandable influence and is magnificently melancholic - it does sadly drown in itself though.

‘Fractured Mind-Set’ is under-appreciated to be completely sincere and has potential to be a single which could garner international recognition; it has similar sound territory to the exceptional anthem ‘The Chase’ by Boston’s Doomriders, it screams for a pint of beer to be sculled in entirety then raised into the air to the band in appreciation. ‘What Little Is Left’ is a peculiar marching track that seems to be written to allow for guitar solos and vocal soaring which are expertly carried out, but at times this song feels like a B-side that doesn’t quite fit. ‘Righteous’ returns to the formula heard earlier in the LP thankfully and ‘Poisoned Tears’ has an exceptional classic doom throwback feel parallel to Sweden’s Witchcraft.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OpjBACo0bo&w=560&h=315]

The climax to Forever. Silent. Broken is in closing track ‘Wasted Away’, a post-punk driven introduction with Kel Barrett baring her tormented soul through a murky and dark timbre that ebbs and flows through near-whispers like The Cure’s ‘A Forest’ and also embraces her powerful howls befittingly. This eventually builds to a tumultuous roar, comparable to when mother nature turns for the worse suddenly and it is first recognised on the horizon of the sea, an oncoming storm that escalates and demolishes all in its path rapidly. This is the exclamation mark to conclude the record and is remarkable in doing so.

Reverting back to Ansel Adams’ opening quote, Interitum have introduced themselves to the world gracefully with Forever. Silent. Broken - but their essence is fuzzy and that is their strength. This won’t be the full-length that demands attention like Windhand’s self-titled record did, however it does showcase Interitum’s unbridled potential.

In closing, we haven’t quite discovered a Tasmanian Tiger in the wild with this album, but we have witnessed a Tasmanian Devil becoming rowdy and jockeying for their position on their prey, daring the world to listen.