Review: “A Splinter in the Infinite Noumenon” by Apostle

Produced, engineered and mixed by Connor Ray (Clot, Malevich, Soros) at Sobek Sound and mastered by Erol Ulug (Bleeding Through, Mortal Wound, All Out War) at Bright Lights,  “A Splinter in the Infinite Noumenon” by Apostle serves as both a meditation on the human condition and a deeply personal tribute shaped by grief and remembrance. Reflecting on themes of loss, mortality, internal conflict and eventual healing, the album title references Carl Jung’s description of humanity as a “splinter in the infinite deity”. The question is, just how far have Atlanta, Georgia Blackened Chaotic Hardcore trio come since the departure of founding vocalist Cameron Austin in 2021? Are they still as urgent, emotive and cathartic as they were when they started out back in 2017?

This half an hour of power begins with the violently turbulent “Exiting the God Hologram” as spine juddering, off kilter rhythms collide with savaged screamed vocal from Murice White. He depicts an ocean of blood parting to reveal two paths, the metaphor one for there being no correct way to traverse though life. Underneath the weight of emotively tinged noise that resonates, the intelligence of it making it thought provoking and stylistically its reminiscent of bands like The Fall Of Troy but with a bit more of an edge. Intense and discordant, the anguish fuelled melodies of “Illusion of Loss” circle the drain of hope which does not spring eternal. Instead, drawing from the poison well of personal loss, this one is venomous, something which then pours into “Swine” like it were an empty vessel. The swirling darkness of anger and frustration collide with angular melodic riffs than create an deep seeded sense of tension, the thunderous drumming and angular guitars driving that sense that everything is about to collapse into an ocean of bedlam.

A sample introduces the morose sounds of “Distortions of Light” and its like the band have slid from Blackened Post-Hardcore into Doom Metal with the crawl of the opening verse. The murky waters of the soundscape are dark, cold and inviting, the vocals so harsh they feel like being hit full in the face by a sheet of glass that shatters on impact, leaving you cut to ribbons. Death growls add to the cacophony of sounds that is “Oscillating Polarities“, the rumbling base and huge cymbal smashes giving the dis-joined riffs something to contrast against as a tale about listening to your gut unfolds. It’s easily the heaviest and most intense cut on this burnt offering and the record is all the better for it. At the end of the opening cut there is a riff that is both mournful and yet somehow against all odds hopeful and that resurfaces in “At Ease“. Carrying the emotional weight of the day after a funeral, it still has those nails on a chalk board vocals, the aching guitar solo a majestic moment during a sublime soundscape of  [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Exiting the God Hologram
2. Illusion of Loss
3. Swine
4. Distortions of Light
5. Oscillating Polarities
6. At Ease

“A Splinter in the Infinite Noumenon” by Apostle is out 5th June 2026 via Terminus Hate City Records and is available over at bandcamp