PROCESSOFGUILT – Slaves Beneath the Sun
Release Date: 23rd September 2022
Label: Alma Mater Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom, Sludge.
FFO: Neurosis, Godflesh, Swans.
Review By: Paul Cairney
Slaves Beneath the Sun is the 5th album from Portuguese stalwarts PROCESSOFGUILT. I call them stalwarts, but this was the first album of theirs that I have listened to. So, they are a new band on me and so this review approaches it mostly from this viewpoint.
From the outset, Slaves Beneath the Sun is a tantalisingly bleak sounding album, with opening track, Demons hinting at a Godflesh sound with vocals similar in tone to Killing Joke’s Jaz Colman, that is until the vocals get a bit growly. To call it a track that welcomes you into the album is a lie, but it does introduce you to the album, ultimately setting the scene for the unwielding oppression that follows.
Throughout the albums 43 minute, 6 track run time, the monotonic bleak overtone threatens to overpower it, yet PROCESSOFGUILT are canny enough to change tack just before the repetitive nature of the riffs starts to get on your nerves. Yes, the walls may be closing in, but if they told me one more time in Victims, I may have wanted them to meet! It is a fine track though!
Ultimately though, the fact is that Slaves Beneath the Sun will appeal only to some metal fans and not all. It is a complex, often difficult album to listen to. This is no criticism. If you give PROCESSOFGUILT time and effort you will find an album that, despite a handful of irritations, is a rewarding listen. It will also make you want to check out their back catalogue. Only then will you see the progression these Portuguese stalwarts have made.
Slaves Beneath the Sun is a mood album, it will challenge you, it will insist you switch it off, it will make you defy it and listen to it, again and again. Every time you will need to decide if you like it or not. It is worth your time.
(3 / 5)
