Noroth - Sacrificial Solace
Dear Ten GK
Firstly, I am okay. You asked me to give you all a little taste of where I am at with things. I no longer worship God, and I am now a Vegetarian. I was broken down after the Pandemic - it did not happen during it. I lost my appetite for food, and for other reasons, I have become more insular than I ever recall being. Perhaps it is age, I am not sure, however, I gained solace in extreme music. And coincidentally, you sent me Sacrificial Solace by Noroth to listen to.
Noroth are a trio from Seattle who play traditional Death Metal with plenty of putrid low end and filthy riffs. What immediately comes to mind when ripping through this 22 minute album is that they have refocused their sound since their last album, Harbinger. Reading through the notes, they have a new drummer, so I wonder if that had anything to do with the change in sound and songwriting. Harbinger was more experimental than this album, and it was a lot cleaner in it's production. This album sounds and feels like it was played and recorded live. Harbinger also had more melodic moments, but here on Sacrificial Solace, that has been stripped away - there is no filler at all, and there is no clean introduction like there is on Flayed Bodies. Sacrificial Solace is classic Death Metal, and I hear a fair bit of early Incantation here, Onward to Golgotha particularly. It feels like there were no compromises made in the writing and recording of Sacrificial Solace, and that is how Death Metal should be made. There are a lot of sub-genres of Death Metal around today, and it does my ears in, but this is my favourite style.
The bass here, oh the bass! So low, so very low! It is hard for me to hear the individual notes being played by the bass guitar, but I don't need to. The bass is bathing me in a low end rumble, and it works very well with the style of the new drummer, Jeremy. The old drummer sat in the pocket a bit more on Harbinger, but Jeremy is a monster behind the kit, and it sounds like he is chasing the riffs. Speaking of chasing, this album races by. It is in and out fast, and the tracks themselves are 2-3 minutes, which is perfect for this type of Death Metal. Nothing outstays its welcome, the transitions between riffs flow well and the pace is in a nice area between mid pace and fast.
Some of the highlights for me are the subtle changes in the third track, Bloodborne. The groovy riff that hits at the forty seven second point with the riff of the album is very cool. The bass that is unleashed with about thirty three seconds left in the title track puts a large smile on this killer's face. I also like the doomy opening to Pleading Depths. The doom does not outlast its welcome though, before the pace lifts and the throttle is opened. The aggression has been dialled up and the beats per minute have been charged up considerably. The sinister and stomping opening to Adorned in Rotting Flesh gives way to a galloping rampage and general unpleasantries - I just really like the feel to this track. The guitar and rhythm section is locked in tight for the whole album, but on Adorned in Rotting Flesh you can really hear all three band members joining forces. There is simply more energy here than on Harbinger. I don't think that was a bad album at all, but as a traditional Death Metal fan, Sacrificial Solace ticks more boxes for me. And, what is not to love about the sound of buzzing flies and churning rotting flesh in a bucket.
Sacrificial Solace has the songwriting and production style that suits my tastes. I wouldn't call it swampy by any means as you can quite easily pick apart everything in the mix, but it has the right degree of filth and energy, while having enough moments that would meet the criteria of being a hook. This is a very good Death Metal album that makes me smile and bang my head. One of the better traditional Death Metal releases so far in 2024.
Highly recommended for fans of Incantation, Morbid Angel, Cianide, Convulse.
Charles Bobbins-Laskey Jnr
Dear Charles,
Thank you for taking the time to send us this in depth take on the new Noroth album. I concur wholeheartedly, this is a very good album and one that you can hit repeat on straight away. I also agree about the comparison between this and Harbinger. You are correct, Mike (guitar) is the main songwriter, and he has stated that they refocused things after their previous drummer left. They have certainly reset things in the right way!
I am so glad you name dropped Cianide at the end there. Hell's Rebirth is in my opinion an extremely underrated album. The artwork for Sacrificial Solace is impressive as well, by the talented Thomas Westphal.
A very good album and indeed, highly recommended.