Whether it’s noise, death metal, powerviolence or grindcore, Full of Hell always have something new on the horizon. Known as much for their versatility as much as their prolific nature, Full of Hell thrive in any musical situation, particularly on the collaborative front. Next month, they release their latest collaborative album, When No Birds Sang, with heavy shoegaze outfit Nothing. In preparation, we’ve compiled and ranked the band’s previous collaborations.
You can pre-order When No Birds Sang via Relapse.
6. Sister Fawn (with Merzbow) (2015)
Noise fans may take umbrage at my listing a Merzbow collaboration so low on the list but Sister Fawn, the “second” Full of Hell and Merzbow release. Originally put out as part of a bonus track on the CD version of Full of Hell – Merzbow, Sister Fawn is the least focused and essential of Full of Hell’s collaborative work.
5. Full of Hell – Merzbow (2014)
In 2014, Full of Hell were one of the most promising bands in the world; Rudiments of Mutilation had released the year before and the future was seemingly bright for the young band. Their collaboration with Japanese noise mainstay Merzbow was the first widely-available Full of Hell collab (their release with Whitehorse was released exclusively to 50 tapes); Merzbow’s walls of harsh noise amplify Full of Hell’s trademark sound but it only hinted at what would come later.
4. Suffocating Hallucination (with Primitive Man) (2023)
Full of Hell and Primitive Man are a pairing that just makes sense. Despite the massive differences in speed, both bands have spent years using noise as a key element of extreme metal and putting out noise-only releases. Suffocating Hallucination attempts to marry the two bands’ signature sounds, resulting in an album that is dense, droning and occasionally nightmarish. Closing track “Tunnels to God” is expansive and epic, going beyond either artist’s typical sound; hopefully the pair revisits the idea of working together in the future.
3. Full of Health (with Health) (2020)
It’s more than just a good play on words. Joining forces with industrial/noise rock group Health yielded interesting results for Full of Hell; instead of working with an artist who amplified the dark and heavy sides of their sound, Full of Health is driven by a danceable industrial beat and sung female vocals. Full of Health leans more Health than Full of Hell, but it’s an interesting single in both bands’ discography.
2. Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light (with The Body) (2017)
Of the two collaborations between The Body and Full of Hell, Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light is the more eclectic of the two (and that’s not counting the Devo cover). Pulsing electronic beats, screeching feedback, Chip King and Dylan Walker’s trademark vocals, insane Dave Bland drumming—it’s all on display here and it really, really works. The only better collaboration is…
1. One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache (with The Body) (2016)
Full of Hell have over 40 releases but One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache stands head and shoulders over most of them. A more atmospheric, and by extension nightmarish, release than the second collab between the two artists, the songs flow together cinematically. King’s vocals sound like a person screaming from Hell. Both Full of Hell and The Body exercise restraint, letting walls of noise and droning feedback play out slowly so that songs like “World Of Hope And No Pain” hit twice as hard. A lot of noise and extreme metal sells itself as dark and unsettling, but One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache actually is.
The post Full of Hell Collaborative Releases, Ranked appeared first on Decibel Magazine.