[Artwork by Santiago Francisco Jarramillo]
Drummer Trynt Kelly’s feet are flying. That’s one point of interest on Devouring Darkness, Unmerciful’s fourth full-length, and that point is like an industrial sewing machine needle turbo-embroidering your ear canal. Take “Infernal Conquering.” While comparatively slower than some of the blast-beat-rife speed demons on display, it’s still a showcase for Kelly’s hooves, demonstrating the brutal textural elegance of stacking sick riffs with complex kick drum patterns. Listen to how the skins slayer chains together the chonk, each bass drum thump a link in that chain. It’s reminiscent of another outfit keen on calorie-burning drumming annihilation.
But, of course, you know better. At Unmerciful’s guitarful heart are Clinton Appelhanz and Jeremy Turner. Appelhanz kicked Unmerciful into gear shortly after leaving Origin in 1998. And Turner was one of Origin’s co-founders and songwriters until that band’s Antithesis, which essentially encompasses its golden age. Unmerciful has also been the grounds for other Origin get-togethers, such as when John Longstreth filled in to drum on 2016’s Ravenous Impulse. So, you know, with that DNA, it makes sense that Unmerciful might sound a little like Origin in the same way attendees at a family reunion might share characteristics.
But the key is that Unmerciful isn’t just a continuation of good-era Origin. Devouring Darkness blasts away a lot of rock, exposing some rich veins of classic death metal. “I think the most influential death metal bands for me would be Suffocation and Immolation,” Turner told Extreminal in 2018. “I remember the first time I heard the Effigy of the Forgotten album. It was almost too heavy for me at that point! It was so incredible. Immolation is so dark and evil to me. That band is so unique in their sound. Almost every album Immolation has put out is a favorite of mine.”
The title track of Devouring Darkness channels both of those influences while putting an Unmerciful spin on the proceedings. The verse is very Close to a World Below, that cacophonous clang that tonally colors the work of one of Yonkers’s finest. The difference is that, instead of sitting in the pocket, singer Josh Riley follows the guitar riff. “The vocals in Unmerciful are actually very hard to pull off correctly,” Turner said to Getting it Out in 2020. “It’s mostly rhythmic, but sometimes follows the guitar riffs as opposed to the drums, while still being in time. Josh is also a guitarist, and his sense of timing is great.” As for the other noted influence, Devouring Darkness‘s opener, “Miracle in Fire,” has that crunching quality of prime Suffocation, including the nimble leads that other adherents leave out because of the degree of difficulty.
Still, it’s not a one-to-one: 20-plus years into its career, Unmerciful has cultivated its own voice, one that is often looser and more organic-sounding than the more mechanistic Origin. That’s no clearer than on “Vomit You Out,” a take-two on the song first featured on Origin’s 2000 self-titled debut. The original feels boxed in by its precision, a roboticism that works well within the context of the album, a thirty-minute exercise in technical punishment, but can create ear fatigue. Unmericful’s take almost swings in comparison, like watching a bulldozer drifting around a tight corner. It’s also significantly faster, somehow, closing with a flurry of Kelly’s speedy kicks.
The knock on Devouring Darkness, and it is a minor one, is that nearly 40 minutes of Unmerciful is a lot of Unmerciful, the kind of record that should probably be experienced on vinyl thanks to the enforced breather between sides. Taken on a whole, the album naturally flags a bit toward its end, like how any professional sports season tends to dull the senses before the final playoff push. By the time closer “Vengeance Transcending” rolls around, you kind of feel like you know all of Unmerciful’s tricks. That could cut both ways, either fostering a sense of intimacy or just letting the brutality wash over you. Taken as a standalone, it’s one of the album’s strongest tracks, but it’s also like appreciating the best swing from someone who has been striking you with a sledgehammer for three-quarters of an hour. Invoking the Reign in Blood runtime sanity check might’ve led to a better listening experience.
But again, that’s a minor quibble for an album that has such an assured sense of what it is, and that is a blazing death metal album. There are so many points of interest swimming around in Devouring Darkness. But, in a process that will please noted foot enthusiast Hidetaka Miyazaki, how about starting with Trynt Kelly’s kicks and moving up from there?
