Warmer weather always makes me want to listen to cold, grim, Black Metal. The new album from Polish outfit Outre is definitely pushing that button. I’ll admit to not knowing much about Polish metal outside of the big names like Vader, Decapitated and Behemoth. Outre easily qualify to keep up with the big boys on the strength of this effort.
Clocking in at 36 minutes, Hollow World is full of tasty blasts and blackened riffs that walk the line between percussively driven and crushing dissonance. The seven tracks flow into each other in a coherent way, mixing tempos and grooves going from full tilt to quieter moments without seeming overtly jarring. Worth mentioning is the production and mix here are of a high standard. The polish has paid off in a big way with the raw brutality of the instrumentation being captured without losing any of the impact.
The guitars have a very ‘modern Black Metal’ sound, taking cues from the leaders in the genre but managing to keep a raw nerve jangling edge. Vocals are delivered in a ‘Nergal-esque’ growl which offers a more Death Metal feel and suits the overall dark tone of the music. The drumming here is an exercise in inhuman stamina, blast beats and double kick high tempos makes me wonder if there is a factory somewhere in Poland where they turn out drummers like Terminators.
Standout tracks are hard to pick, the flow of the album is such that I recommend throwing on some headphones and listening in one sitting.
Overall the more I listen to this album the more it has grown on me like a metallic melanoma. There are plenty of great ideas on display here and I’ll be following these guys with interest going forward.
Rating – 4/5
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