Filth Is Eternal – Find Out | Album Review

Drawing deeper from the Pacific Northwest musical well, Seattle’s metallic hardcore merchants Filth Is Eternal prime themselves for an explosive re-entry into the alternative consciousness with new album “Find Out”.

Originally appearing on the scene under a different name with debut Suffrage in 2018, metallic hardcore collective Filth Is Eternal marked their first release under their new moniker drawing from the name of their 2021 release Love Is a Lie, Filth Is Eternal; a twenty-minute, twelve song firecracker of unbridled aggression. Channeling influences from US hardcore veterans The Distillers and Tragedy, to noisier outputs such as Converge and Trap Them, the band carved a dedicated niche within the hardcore scene and a reputation for chaotic live performances. Now with producer Paul Fig (Slipknot, AFI and Alice In Chains) on board and recording at Dave Grohl’s Studio 606, the band have tightened the screws, oiled the gears and given everything a fresh coat of paint for new album Find Out.

Kicking things off in abrasive fashion, opening track “Half Wrong” immediately proves that the new sheen in the production hasn’t taken away from the band’s underlying savagery. A dazzling variance of dissonant melodies, nauseating crust-punk hooks and turbulent drumming are on display in just under two minutes. Immediately following is lead single “Crawl Space”, speedy hi-hat playing breaks straight into in-your-face, no nonsense d-beat hardcore with a touch of Converge, vocalist Lis Di Angelo seeing fit to approach the song with a more traditional hardcore vocal delivery with a touch of reverb and delay for good measure, the ninety-one second whirlwind of a lead single coming to a close with a furious flanged soaked guitar solo courtesy of guitarist Brian McClelland. 

Find Out follows the standard set by the short-form style of the opening two tracks; which is to say of the fourteen-tracks on offer, only four significantly break the two-minute mark. This is where some contention comes in to play depending on the listener; whilst there are a lot of incredibly catchy hooks, whether drum fills, particular guitar riffs or vocal passages strewn throughout the track list, some feel a little undercooked and at points a little repetitious. For example, “Magnetic Point” and “Roll Critical” almost feel like two halves of the same whole, or with “All Mother” and “Last Exit” starting with virtually the same tom-led drum pattern, leading you to think the songs are repeating for a brief second.

None of this is to say that what’s here is bad though; far from it, in both the performances and production. Paul Fig did a fantastic job on the production, cleaning everything up and injecting a little more air into the room as opposed to Love Is A Lie, Filth Is Eternal’s harsher, slightly more claustrophobic nature. Di Angelo’s vocal deliveries and the various processing styles associated with them are great, at times with a little added reverb or added flange when called for. The impassioned performances lend a lot more emotional credence compared to the previous album, Di Angelo clearly strongly channeling their emotions into the performances. McClelland’s guitar tones in particular sound superb along with Emily Salisbury’s absurdly frenetic and precise drum work coming through with clarity allowing the listener to marvel at their ludicrous drum chops. Rahsaan Davis playa some absolutely frenetic, high-energy bass lines, but at times they get buried a little too low in the mix to truly appreciate them. Granted, this is hardcore at its heart, the more angular treble-heavy bass tones fit really well with the style and sound.

That being said, closing track “Loveless” sounds absolutely massive. Leaning into a crusty, sludgy, earth crushing dirge with a significantly stronger low-end bass presence, sticking out as the album closer and giving a really gnarly note to end the album on. Going back to the prevalence of hooks, there are a tonne of interesting ideas thrown around here. Second single “Pressure Me” is based around a riff that’s  a tip of the hat towards Megadeth’s “Symphony of Destruction” before breaking into crunchy palm-muted, arm-swinging hardcore strut. “Cherish” is a more mid-paced and melody focused affair, evoking the 90s grunge influence in the sleazy groove of the melodic riffs, vocal deliveries and restrained drumming. “Signal Decay” is reminiscent of Mutoid Man/Cave In for the Stephen Brodsky-esque melodic ear-worm riffs and vocal performance in the best way possible, arguably the best track on the album for how deep those hooks have been sunk in.

Sitting pretty at around twenty eight minutes, its hard not to recommend Find Out to any crust punk or metallic hardcore fan. There is absolutely something here to drag you in and keep you engaged for the twenty-eight minute run time and plenty of pit-anthems that are sure to please live audiences eager for throwing down. Whilst there are still some minor improvements to be made, its a great follow up to Filth Is Eternal‘s previous work as a more focused and melodic effort, the band making massive strides in an attempt to become more accessible.