Portland, Oregon via Providence, Rhode Island doom noise duo
the Body
grew more and more prone to collaboration as their tenure wore on, inviting both noise artists like
the Haxan Cloak
and gothic choral group
the Assembly of Light Choir
to take part in their always shifting, always brutal sonic assaults. A team-up with equally sludgy Baton Rouge doom metal act
Thou
was a suitable next chapter when the two entities teamed up in 2014 for the collaborative EP
Released from Love
. The burning, suffocating walls of downtuned guitars and battle-ready drums found an expanded bedding for both
vocalist
Bryan Funck
's slithering demon whispers and
vocalist/bassist
Chip King
's distinctive high-pitched screams. The sound of these four tunes was noisy, overpoweringly slow, and bookended by singers who sounded respectively like a dark overlord reciting evil invocations and a manic pterodactyl screaming in pain. The expanded release of
includes six additional tracks from further collaborative sessions, these tunes gathered together under the dark title
You, Whom I Have Always Hated
. The crushing intensity on this collection is commonplace for both bands, but comes together with more swampy layers than either can muster on their own,
's guitar-free sound bolstered by
's wickedly melodic guitar work on songs like "In Meeting Hearts Beat Closer." Likewise, the penchant for noise that
developed over the years touches tracks like the percussive fuzzfest "Her Strongholds Unvanquishable." Two of the album's standout tracks come with its covers. The ensemble delivers a sinking, depressively spare take on
Vic Chesnutt
's tune "Coward" as well as a more faithful rendition of early
Nine Inch Nails
classic "Terrible Lie." The results, while violent and explosive, almost sound like the members of both bands are having some version of fun in the studio, injecting a song that probably sounded earth-shattering when it came out in 1989 with enough noise, venom, and vitriol to make
Trent Reznor
sound like
Perry Como
. ~ Fred Thomas