Tithe – Inverse Rapture
Release Date: 17th February 2023
Label: Profound Lore
Bandcamp
Genre: Death Metal, Blackened Death, Deathgrind.
FFO: Witch Vomit, Fuming Mouth, Sermon of Flames.
Review By: Andy Spoon
Portland, Oregon, e.g. the United States’ Pacific northwest region is a haven for extreme death metal acts who are expanding the local scenes in Oregon, Washington State, and northern California. One of my favorite OSDM bands that has come from that region was Witch Vomit, who opened my mind up to the serious, broody, sludgy scene that metalheads are enjoying out there. I’ve been intrigued ever since. Tithe comes to the table out of Portland with their 2023 album Inverse Rapture, a self-described mixture of Black Metal, Death Metal, and Grindcore, something that ought to be a serious addition to the local mixture.
Right off the bat, we are treated to note-bending, fuzzy guitar that chugs down in whole note madness with breakdown fury on drums, big cymbal crashes, and ride bells to cut through the mix. I am immediately reminded of some of the note-bending that I loved so much with some of the contemporary OSDM/noise bands that are really blowing up the genre right now. The sound is large, production giving the listener some seriously-big soundstage, which is either overwhelming, or entertaining. The choice is up to you. I personally dig it. The noise level in heavy, grind-ey music gives me good vibes all day long, as I can simply be floored by the intensity of the din.
The sound is generated by a three-piece act, featuring vocalist/guitarist Matt Eiseman, drummer Kevin Swartz, bassist Alex Huddleston, who had been in the band’s line-up since 2018 before releasing their COVID-era debut LP Penance, which the band considers well-received. I think that Inverse Rapture is likely to enjoy the same treatment, if not better. While I haven’t enjoyed Tithe before this, Inverse Rapture is absolutely giving me some inkling that I’m going to enjoy Penance, something I plan to get started on soon.
There are a few moments where the heaviness is broken apart by interludes of doomy, sludgy seriousness, like in Killing Tree, which separates the deluge of fuzzy intensity for a minute or so. While it’s not common on the album, it does expertly add a dimension that gives some credence to the sludgy influences. I like to be able to hear some variation in the music when it comes to bands like this. While there are artists who only ever go between slow and fast parts, this is more akin to a record that is unending insanity followed by a mere one-minute break before going back into the waves of sound. It measures up to the overall cohesiveness of the total album.
While only coming in at seven individual tracks, Inverse Rapture is non-stop heaviness, wild chord-bending, angsty vocal three-piece madness that 100% invokes the spirit of the pacific northwest death metal scene right now, and really ought not be missed by fans of sludgy, noisy, angry death metal with high intensity that doesn’t let up.
(4 / 5)
