The Ergon Carousel - Dead Banks

9/10

The Ergon Carousel are the most exciting British band i have heard since the likes of Gallows and Rolo Tomassi.

I first heard of this band through a split they put out not too long ago with a band called Throats (RIP) which was a Kyuss cover. That one song, although only a cover, was more than enough convincing for me to look further. Dead Banks is without a doubt the best mercilessly heavy album of the year and i dare you to find another that comes close to rivaling this.

Clocking in at just under 20 minutes, this 17 song collection packs more than enough punch to justify its length. the opening track “Broken Mirrors” wastes no time in showing what they are all about with intense screaming and instrumentation from start to end. The second track, “Entry Level Depressant” is an instant high point of the album. It may only be slightly longer than the opening track but it feels much more fleshed out and accessable for people who maybe arent looking for Grindcore at break neck speeds and would be the place to start for people who arent necessarily into albums as a whole body of work.

The album continues to impress with the next 6 songs, many of them reaching slightly longer lengths with consistant intensity. The guitar playing is another high point. With riffs similar to those of Daughters and Discordance Axis, the guitarists manage to create bodies of work that is technical without feeling pointless and is fast while retaining a sense of identity and memorability, leaving every song sounding very much like a song rather than half a minute of random noise. I believe this should be praised as too many bands lose sight of creating something genuinely fresh and interesting and end up making something very unsettling to listen to and not in a good way.

The title track “Dead Banks” is a big moment for this album clocking in at just about 3 minutes. It breaks up the two halves nicely by combining the ferrocious speed and riffs with more melodic parts making this probably the most interesting song. the best thing about this band is that the vocals never feel out of place and are delivered perfectly, this song being a perfect example, and although they are agressive and hard to understand at times they are really enjoyable and dont end up becoming monotonous.

The album presses on in the same vein as the first half, not letting up for a second. The songs remain very varied and interesting, “Survived By None” being the best in my opinion, yet again showing just how excellent the guitar playing is on this album. The last song “An Illustration Of Fear And Loathing” gives Dead Banks a send off just as heavy as it came it with what should be the deffinition of an abrupt ending.

this album just radiates positives, the main one being that it just flows so well through all 20 minutes, making it impossible to turn off. There is pretty much nothing to fault with this album, its length is perfect and although that may put some people off i dont think it needs to be any longer. My only small problem with the album is that in some tracks the vocals lack clarity, so until the LP is delivered next week (hopefully containing a lyric sheet/booklet of sorts) i cant really say anything regarding lyrics, but im sure that i will not be dissapointed.

This is a great release for British music this year and my best advice would be dont sleep on getting this album.

For fans of: Rolo Tomassi, Converge, Discordance Axis, Daughters (early stuff), Throats, Orchid, Dropdead