Review
Northless
No Quarter for the Damaged

Halo of Flies (2009) Jon E.

Northless – No Quarter for the Damaged cover artwork
Northless – No Quarter for the Damaged — Halo of Flies, 2009

I could start and end this review with just one word: brutal. Unfortunately, I think my editor would prefer a few more words. This is a four-song 12 inch EP of sludge metal transposed over crust punk dynamics. Nothing on this EP goes very fast, the tempos get ramped up in each song but the riffs are so thick and syrupy its as though your robo-tripping at a Tragedy show. This is the best way to describe the first three songs of this EP.

Each song carries a strong sense of the space each instrument is taking up in the song. Throughout, each musician is given their own time to shine making this that much more fleshed out. The bass remains distorted and acts as a strong counterpoint making every guitar riff carry that much more weight when it hits. The lyrics carry a rather Tragedy-esque vibe, being that they are a bit more artistic in a death metal way than most crust bands would try to go for.

Where this release truly shines is in the details. The packaging is beyond most LPs I can think of in recent memory. While the artwork itself is suitably dark, the CD that comes with it comes packaged in the liner notes. The liners themselves are silver on back printed fold out card stock poster of sorts. An absolutely beautiful touch to a brutal release. This is something that must be seen and bought. It is clear that a lot of effort was put into this to make it something more than the average.

9.0 / 10Jon E. • April 26, 2010

Northless – No Quarter for the Damaged cover artwork
Northless – No Quarter for the Damaged — Halo of Flies, 2009

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