Sometimes music is dark. Whether it’s by design or simply a result of the pain and frustration that goes into making it, it’s easy to distinguish but hard to create. There are bands in the UK who, although they technically exist within certain scenes, have managed to craft sounds that bring forth the despair and nihilism that permeates these times of ours. Calligram and Mastiff are two notable examples, existing in black metal and hardcore respectively who have interwoven grinding, sludgy elements into their sound in a way that makes them feel almost uncomfortable to listen to at points. Healing Wound from Brighton are a newer proposition but one that nevertheless fit the mould of dark, angry music that bursts out of its original metalcore (for lack of a better term, this is so much more) shackles and forges a way through more abrasive territories.
On their previous effort, the Failure Will Make Serpents Of Us All EP, the band channelled their venom through a dirgy lens with flourishes of traditional hardcore punk splattered across the tracks. There were as many moments to bang your head and two step as there were parts to grimace and accept the blast that poured over you. Throughout it though, were veins of anger and a scorn at the world that dug into your skin like chipped fingernails and refused to let go, leaving you feeling as if your skin was covered by a layer of detritus (But in the way that all good dark media does) and a less favourable outlook on the world.
Healing Wound aren’t afraid to be ugly. There’s very little in the way of beauty (in the traditional sense anyway) or light in this, their debut full length Bodies Of Heavenly Violence. Indeed, it’s a record that for it’s inspiration, focuses on the dark nature of the human soul and the parts of the world that linger in your thoughts like parasites, dimming your view of this already murky world till it begins to look a bit like PS2 Silent Hill.
“If a depressive episode supplemented by cheap vodka and a desire to hurt others more than yourself had a vibe, then it's this record”
Kicking things into high gear from the off is ‘Purging Visions’ a blast of grinding guitars set to a backdrop of percussion that proves itself to be one of the starring features of the record. Whether it’s furious blasts or sections of groove, drummer Max Colley earns his bread and then some. ‘Obelisk Of Grief’ takes things a bit old school Code Orange with it’s eerie, haunting industrial bass and vocals that seem to be coming from everywhere yet nowhere. On the atmospheric, almost sickly bubbling first part of ‘Flesh Ridden’, you reach peak of the albums atmosphere, before lulling you into a full throttle, almost Nails style track of pure violence, only enhanced by the throat-shredding voice of Harry Huntington. There’s more Todd Jones and co influence on the aurally eviscerating ‘Heavenly Violence’, which in just just over two minutes, manages to leave the listener both discombobulated and hyper-aware of their surroundings. Despite sounding like a lot of bands, they pack enough into their locker to not sound like a direct rip off of anyone. There’s hints of older bands like Trap Them through to newer acts like Burner littered throughout.
Perhaps a little one note at times, there’s little in the way of dynamism about this album, but it more than makes up for it in how it makes you feel. There’s also a feeling that the band perhaps let ideas go a little too quickly, and some longer tracks or perhaps an interlude showing just what they can do in terms of creating dark, oozing soundscapes would add to the overall experience, however you do feel there is a lot more to come from the south coast lot. If a depressive episode supplemented by cheap vodka and a desire to hurt others more than yourself had a soundtrack, then it’s this record. It pulls no punches in how shit things are and offers no solutions, only the cold barbed embrace of the mire in which it resides. It’s enough to put the band on the map and gives them a good platform to be able to carve their own depressing niche into the British scene.