Album Review: Praetorian – Pylon Cult (APF Records)
Building on three promising and acclaimed EPs, the menacing Hertfordshire quartet that is Praetorian return with their debut full length album ‘Pylon Cult’. It will be released on January 31st, 2025, through APF Records.
Take sludge, doom, black, death, hardcore, thrash, and speed, blend it together until you get a brownish, sticky paste that smells as bad as it looks. Yet, it’s so appealing because you know it’s going to feel so good when it slides down your throat.
Say hello to Praetorian and their obnoxious, but lovable, debut album, Pylon Cult. A maddening blend of genres and ideas that is quite disgusting, but delivers such a cacophony of brilliance, most will be well and truly enamoured with it. There’s no sugar-coating it, it’s an incredibly harsh and heavy album, drawing so much of its power from a hostile place.
All the proof anyone needs of this intensity is available from the start with Fear & Loathing in Stevenage. An immensely harsh piece of music that, somehow, crawls into the brain matter and takes up residence. It’s not catchy, but it has moments and touches that conflict with the savage noise emanating from elsewhere. The thick and methodical end to this track is sickeningly brilliant.
It’s the bar setter for brutality, whereas Chain of Dead Command is the bar setter for volatility. Praetorian are at their most dangerous sounding when they unleash more hyperactive efforts like this, but as it goes on, they showcase a more varied sound. The intensity drops and haunting levels of post-like instrumentals meet subtle and soft singing. A uniquely clever track.
There’s a monumental amount of heaviness on display with the ferocious Gutwrenching, and a raucous display of riffing alongside vocals that can be summed up as ‘horrifying’. It kicks all kinds of ass, especially with an ending that has some groove. Praetorian know how to keep the listener engaged far beyond heaviness. Something further exemplified by the impressive melodic segments of Tombs of the Blind Dregs. It’s melody that still has a disconcerting vibe, but it allows the more rancorous side of the band to rise with intense aplomb. This is a mighty track.
Whereas Dormant Psychosis is not a mighty track, being only 70-seconds of jarring noise that has a stronger effect on the psyche than initially expected. A perfect track to sit in between Tombs of the Blind Dregs and Remnants of Head. Here, that nastiness rises up in methodical fashion, Praetorian not only taking their time to punish the listener but lulling those brave enough to subject themselves to it, into a false sense of security. All because of its restraint. Yet the threat is there, and as this one develops, it is liable to cause heart palpations. The dual vocal performance is at its strongest here.
Sounding meaner and nastier than ever, the title track might be more succinct, but it’s not lacking in intensity at all. Whereas the finale of Burly Haemorrhoid is absurdly ugly and harsh. A cacophony of brutalising noise that f**ks up the senses from the start, and transforms, bit by bit, into something so captivating and so disconcerting. It leads to an ending that needs to be heard to be believed. It’s that good, but so is the album. It will leave you feeling sore all over but immensely satisfied with the experience.
Praetorian – Pylon Cult Track Listing:
1. Fear & Loathing in Stevenage
2. Chain of Dead Command
3. Gutwrenching
4. Tombs of the Blind Dregs
5. Dormant Psychosis
6. Remnants Of Head
7. Pylon Cult
8. Burly Haemorrhoid
Links
LinkTree | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Spotify | APF Records
Praetorian - Pylon Cult (APF Records)
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The Final Score - 9/10
9/10