Hailing from Michigan (Detroit), Hellmouth are a snarling, gnarly crossover band that meld, punk, thrash and hardcore into a mix that’s a refreshing change from the usual Ferret fare though it lacks real staying power, once the initial burst of feral energy wears off.
Citing influences like Celtic Frost, Black Flag, Venom, Black Sabbath and Disfear, and featuring former Suicide Machines vocalist Jason Navarro Destroy Everything, Worship Nothing delivers a gut punch opening trio of “Pick A Coffin”, “Overtime in a Shark Cage” and “Pawnshop of St Christopher”, that’s gets your attention from the get go showing the bands ability to deliver spite filled raucous tones and sneering spitting slowdowns that offer no pretenses, no scene points or trends, which is a nice change of pace for Ferret as well as a break to these ears.
Among such crusty, white knuckle throw downs “Heathen Son in the Eyes of Blood” , “Oblivion & Utopia”, “Drop out & Destroy”, Praying for Plagues”, “God’s Forgotten Children” and “More Fire”, Hellmouth do manage a few moments of respite such as the groovy “Blackest of Voids”, the surprisingly introspective sections of the otherwise rollicking “Dust” and “Crooked Teeth”, the menacing as well as lecturing closer “The Masters Have Poisoned the Slaves”. Though Navarro keep’s his feral snarl throughout with the disdain of his former ska /punk hues literally making him choke violently on each word he spits out. Still, by the eleventh track the band’s relatively continual antagonism has worn me down and I’m ready to move onto something slightly more varied- but its more of a testament to my attention span than the band’s delivery, so take it for what its worth.
I’m not sure who the target audience is for Hellmouth or even if there is one, as Hellmouth might have some appeal to the retro thrash crowd as well as the crowd into the noisier, more metal end of the hardcore spectrum (Pulling Teeth, Protestant, Trap Them?) but either way despite the album’s lack of lasting appeal, the immediate intensity and seething fury is worth your time.
