4th September 2021

Review: “Sucidal Ideation” from VileGloom

Inking a deal with the new Nuclear Blast imprint label Blood Blast for their sophomore EP “Suicidal Ideation“, mixed and mastered by In Her Memory drummer Frank Smith, Portland Oregon based Downtempo Deathcore collective VileGloom continue to be a concern to those around them. The band left a lasting impression upon us in 2019 with debut “Distrust“, while a prize pair of stand alone singles in “Fame Seeker” and “Droppin’ Plates” in 2020 serving to carry us over to something darker. The band have described their vision for this one as told from the perspective of someone who has nothing left to live for with self depreciation, anxiety and suicidal thoughts all wrapped up in a bow…

…VileGloom have made their name by keeping things low and slow with Sludgey tones and introspective lyrical themes putting them firmly on the Nu side of the Deathcore parade and the swirling darkness of opening cutting and title track “Suicidal Ideation” is exactly what you’d expect from them. It may not be as pound for pound all out heavy as some of their previous offerings sonically, but it is every bit as dark an punishing a listen with stuccato riffs and odd time signatutures. There is however an ill-fitting vocal line that sticks out like a sore thumb due to its timing slap bang in the middle of this one. The music is simply too slow for the pacing needed to cram in all the phrasing. “Old School” steps up the bands game with a longer and more complex cut that focuses on crushing eerie atmosphere with a surprise blast beat passage while the use of programming to close the cut with some dark whispers acts as a pallette cleanser so that “Dead Weight” can bring total annihilation. The leads make this one colossal as it continues down the spiral towards the inevitable demise of our protagonist who at this point is sleeping through entire days to keep the demons at bay. Moving into Nu-Metalcore territory with a cut in a similar vein to Extortionist, “Going Ghost” is another cautionary tale of a broken relationship that steps away from the central concept but works well none the less thanks to the injection of those leads which lift the whole thing without detracting from the sheer heaviness of the pounding rhythms. Rap screams ignite the blue touch paper of “Living Hell“, the band using more upbeat rhythm injections to carry off another brutish affair with a Grand Canyon sized slow breakdown part that really sets it apart [7/10]

Track listing