Prisoner - PUTRID | OBSOLETE

Prisoner – PUTRID | OBSOLETE
Release Date: 15th March 2024
Label: Persistent Vision Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Industrial, Noise, Crust, Death Metal.
FFO: Godflesh, Neurosis, Napalm Death, Meathook Seed, His Hero Is Gone, Nails, Candy.
Review By: Mark Young

Well, this is quite the experience! Prisoner drop their sophomore album, 7 years on from their debut release, Beyond the Infinite. It garnered a lot of praise from the metal press for their efforts for effectively melding different genres and making it unique to them. I think they have done it again here, with a release that evokes (for me at least) the industrial ethic of the late 80s and early 90s. Although it reminds me of that period, there is nothing here that suggests it’s a copy of that music. Within the 8 songs, there is a dizzying level of confidence in their material and whilst some moments frustrate, it’s one of the most original albums I’ve heard in a while.

Flesh Dirge starts with building noise, samples leading into a stop-start industrial beat with screams layered over it. This took me back to NIN and their Broken / Fixed EP’s, but with added death metal vocals now giving it that extra boost. The way they bring in a cosmic feel to it is sublime, and as a statement of intent this is monstrous. It’s nightmare fuel of the highest order and with no time to breathe Pool of Disgust flies in, bringing punk into the mix. It’s energetic and a blast, wrapping up in 2 minutes which is exactly what is required after Flesh Dirge, subverting expectations and keeping that energy up with The Horde offering up some straight-ahead blast beats and pummeling guitar work. Constant use of samples weaves in and out around the death growls to great effect. There are three vocalists listed – Pete Roza (guitar), Justin Hast (bass) and Dan Finn (guitar) each contributing to the violent noise being perpetrated here. After this triple salvo, Shroud enters the fray, instantly igniting with some glorious riffing in here, bordering on the technical as they navigate into an epic breakdown. It all seems so effortless for them as they pick up that pace once more. The subtle use of keys as it heads to the climax sneaks up on you, complimenting and completing the song. Fantastic stuff!!

Leaden Tomb revisits the style of Flesh Dirge, but now with added grind to it as they drop the speed for another spot-on breakdown, it’s hard not to nod your head to this and live this would be huge, absolutely huge. Pathogenesis takes the baton and unleashes possibly the song of the album. It is an 8-minute battering, mixing up-tempo, style, the lot. The use of samples here is so effective, allowing them to close one chapter of music and start another going for a different attack. This gives the song so much whilst avoiding any repetition of earlier music. Entity raises the bar set once more, combining that battering ram of music with a softly spoken interlude. It ends on a furious note, the energy level never dropping from them, or allowing it to drop with you. Nanodeath closes the album out with a little Black Metal thrown in and a melodic arrangement running through it. There are no two songs alike here, even those that utilise samples or keys. Here it leans towards BM more, and when you look to the final three tracks here, each hit the target despite their length. It’s genuinely fantastic stuff and should be received as well as their debut. Just don’t leave it 7 years again, eh?