The Body
Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light
Release Date: Nov 17, 2017
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Heavy Metal
Record label: Thrill Jockey
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Album Review: Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light by The Body
Excellent, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 8/10
Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light is the second recorded collaboration between the Body and Full of Hell, two prolific American groups who consistently push the boundaries of heavy music. Their first teaming, 2016's One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache, was named after a Hole lyric, contained a Leonard Cohen cover, and was an extremely tense composite of the two acts' grind, noise, and sludge tendencies. As good as it was, Ascending immediately feels like a major step up from the two parties' initial effort.
Based on rating 8/10
Of the many collaborative projects the Body have taken on in recent years, their work with Full of Hell has produced the most unlikely and uncanny chemistry. The former play a curious iteration of droning, unpredictable sludge, while the latter are fierce powerviolence innovators that prefer 60-second tracks and blast beats. The two bands paired up for One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache last year, and their second LP together picks up where that excellent record left off. Despite having distinct styles, the musical touches each group ….
Based on rating 7.8/10
The very idea of a second full-length collaboration between the Body and Full of Hell seems laughably redundant. Just last year, the two bands reached across the aisle of experimental metal subgenres for the malevolent and strong One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache, an overwhelming outburst that distilled and forcibly synthesized what had long been best about both bands. The depth-charge doom of Portland duo the Body supplied the foundation, with drums that rattled like cannon fire and guitars that groaned as if from an abyss.
Based on rating 7.5/10
Similarly to their debut, One Day You Will Ache Like I Ache, their merging serves as an effort to stretch the boundaries of the genre of metal. While their new LP is some of this year's most sinister take on metal, its end result, however, acts more as a boundless experiment. On their own, both The Body and Full of Hell prevail as some of today's most dynamic metal, and even as a collective their juxtapositions unite.
'Ascending a Mountain of Heavy Light'
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