Heriot – Devoured by the Mouth of Hell (Review)

Everyone has that one friend who always recommends bands to other people just before their big breakthrough. Today I would like to be that one friend (and we as blog have been before). The band that I’m pretty sure everyone will be talking about soon is Heriot. Their debut album will be released on September 27th via Century Media. Devoured by the Mouth of Hell contains 10 tracks that are hard to beat in terms of brutality and diversity. When I saw the UK-based band live for the first time two years ago, I knew immediately that Heriot were cooking.  

The band’s sound is one thing above all, loud! It feels like being pressed against a wall and fighting for every breath. Tracks like “Foul Void” (which is a great opener by the way) show directly what makes the band special. It is dark and atmospheric, while at the same time playing the most absurd (in terms of heaviness) mosh parts ever. Imagine Chelsea Wolf with breakdowns. Speaking of Chelsea Wolf, the entire album cleverly incorporates atmospheric moments that never feel out of place, even with the aforementioned heaviness. 

Songs like “Opaline” or “Lashed” are good examples of how brilliant Heriot’s song writing is. 

The Industrial-influences mixed with brutal riffs also create a violent atmosphere that is second to none. I like the main riff that the band composed on “At the Fortress Gate“. It reminds me a lot of the early days of Machine Head and that’s exactly the kind of power Heriot’s debut radiates. At the same time, the band manages to skilfully integrate breakdowns into their tracks, combining the atmospheric parts and letting them overflow with violent mosh parts, or vice versa. Has this already been done by other artists in the past? Definitely! But in my opinion, there is currently no other band that can combine both elements as well as Heriot. 

Debbie Gough‘s voice is just incredible. At the same time, it feels like a demonic incantation when she and bassist Jake Packer scream into the microphone. The mixture of melodramatic and absolute destruction is one of many highlights on this album thanks to the vocals of the two.

Devoured by the Mouth of Hell is an absolute monster. For me, it is by far the best debut a band has released in recent years. In the near future we’ll probably have to talk a lot about how revolutionary and ground-breaking this record was when it came out. Fans of Converge, Jesus Piece & The Chariot will get their money’s worth here. Dark, violent and unpleasant is how I would describe the sound of the record. 

The future belongs to Heriot and you should not sleep on them. Mark my words.