“The worst part of hell is not the flames; it’s the hopelessness. And I think that is the part of hell that a person in depression really tastes. The terrible hopelessness that comes over.”
– from The Faces Of Depression, 1959 interviews with psychiatric patients
Between birth and death lies a brief and bloody vale of tears, populated by the vindictive and vicious, the vain and vacuous, the desperate and broken. From screaming in our excrement, wholly dependent upon those who dragged us into this decaying nightmare – gods whom we inevitably disappoint and who in turn poison our hearts with their own failings and fallibilities – we wade through spite and selfishness that eats at any inherent value we once possessed like battery acid. And then, depleted and demented, we return to our excrement and wait, drooling, for blessed incineration or a roughly managed tumble into the soil. Such is the gift of life, the beautiful journey between birth and death.
Into our world of black clouds and despair come Bile Caster, with their new EP, Writhing Between Birth And Death. You will find no respite here, no sunshine breaking through the clouds, just three tracks of monolithic, soul destroying, doom-drenched sludge that will grind your spirit into the dirt with harsh truths and bleak outlook. Opening in a howl of feedback and the hum of overheated amps, ‘Abscess’ begins this tortured descent into the depths of the pit, dragging your limp and exhausted body through the splintered bones of the lost. As unequivocal in its statement of despair as staring into the empty sockets of a skull, the distortion and dissonance will shake you to your core; a crawling yet relentless horror that will drown you in a slurry of despondency. The gargantuan footsteps of ‘Trapped’ follow, each drum beat, each chord, each agonised cry another stone upon your chest, the oppressive weight beyond bearing. Within the hollowed out core of the song the voices of those lost in the mire of severe depression speak with an honesty that tears at the heart, leaving you with open wounds that ‘Harrowing’ rips wide open. Has a song ever been more aptly named? A staggering shadow beast that uses unnerving, echoing space as well as slow, purposeful obliteration to achieve its grinding maceration of the last shreds of hope and identity; leaving you with nothing…as nothing.
Writhing Between Birth And Death will be released on October 4th, on vinyl by Road To Masochist – featuring an exclusive extra track, ‘Repression’ – on CD by Cursed Monk Records and on cassette by Eggy Tapes. However you choose to experience the sonic crucifixion of Bile Caster, it will scour you from the inside and permit no hiding from the horrendous truth of existence. Be sure you are ready before you open this door…there is no turning back once the threshold is crossed.
Line-up:
Joe Lander – Guitar/Vocals
Adam Starkey – Drums
Nick Eagle-Evans – Bass
Genre: Sludge/Doom Metal
For fans of: Primitive Man | Eyehategod | Thou | Abstracter
Further Information:
https://www.facebook.com/bilecastersludge/
https://roadtomasochist.co.uk/store
https://cursedmonk.bandcamp.com/album/writhing-between-birth-and-death
https://eggytapes.bandcamp.com/album/writhing-between-birth-and-death
