Knoll - Interstice | Review

No pretentious narrative-seeking introduction can precede a record like Interstice. The debut record from Tennessee’ newest experimental deathgrind outfit Knoll has its share of existential ponderings in the lyric department, but executes musically as a caustic, rabid twelve-track juggernaut with minimal nonsense. The Memphis underground just got a hell of a lot heavier.

A snarling blend of thundering grindcore, dirty cavern death and noxious noise, Interstice is at once straightforward and unusual. It advances with a serrated knife edge and cuts to the bone just as quickly, hissing through four furious tracks within five or six minutes. The vocals are the most immediately grabbing, a rapid dance between bulky gutturals and some of the most piercing shrieks in contemporary metal. The guitars are a happy balance between dissonant fingerwork and frill-less stompers while the drums pound away tirelessly. The bass work falls through the cracks both in terms of the mix and songcraft somewhat, unfortunately not an uncommon feature of extreme metal. Between the vocals and some of the more pummeling riffs, Venom Prison arise as an easy comparison but Knoll invest more into high tempo blasts and discordant riffing than Venom Prison’s fare.

That’s not to say that Knoll are stuck in one gear the whole time. ‘Grasp’ comes along quickly with a dual guitar harmony that intentionally clashes one against the other melodically to lead into a hellish progression of low tempo chaos. ‘Door To Moil’ and ‘Myr’ are feedback-soaked experimentations into power electronics while ‘Inherent of Life’ settles into a sludgy groove for most of its runtime. But ultimately Interstice tends to stick to fast tempos and pure, unfiltered fury throughout its short length.

Knoll seem to know what they’re about on their debut. There’s experimentation and variety, but not an over-investment into either. They’re certainly not the finished picture, but this kind of confident delivery meeting head-on with great, dynamic songwriting so early on means it’s likely to be a great one when it is.(8/10)

Brett Tharp

Band info: www.facebook.com/KnollVHS