Punk rock has been making a screaming comeback thanks to the state of the world, and Filth is Eternal have loudly returned, ready to say a lot about society with their new album Impossible World, released through MNRK Heavy.
Throughout the 12-track album, Filth is Eternal touch on some pretty heavy topics, from the uneasy rise of authoritarianism, to the insane speed of technology’s progression and unchecked facts, to the disillusionment felt around the world. But within this heavy darkness, there are flickers of light and hope, a protest against the establishment. A message from the band – don’t stop fighting and making a lot of fucking noise.
Vocalist Lis DiAngelo’s lyrics and vocals are her hardest hitting work to date. The opening track ‘Stay Melted’ does feel like it’s deliberately understated her voice with overpowering instrumentals, until the vocals come biting back in full force, overlaying with rougher, growled vocals.
Kicking straight into its rebellious sound, ‘Long Way’ has a world weary feel to it, DiAngelo singing “I’ll feed on all the pain”, before the pace rachets up with ‘Hellfire’ for a scorching message on dissention, maintaining an uproarious level through ‘Acetylene’. Impossible World doesn’t give any room to rest with back-to-back blistering tracks ‘Weather & Rose’, ‘Desire’ featuring stunning riffs from Baroness’ Gina Gleason, ‘Total War’ – featuring gutteral fry screams from The Blood Brothers’ Johnny Whitney – and ‘Bad Faith’, absolutely a song to worship.
“The world can feel like a total trash fire to the point where we become lethargic. Lethargy makes us our own worst enemy; sometimes you have to kill a thing before you lose yourself to it completely.”
DiAngelo continues to combine the defiant lyrics of Impossible World with the instrumentals, singing “the world is splitting under my feet” on the mantra-like ‘Outbreak’, before Brian McClelland tears into ‘So Below’, sharing the reins with Fall Out Boy’s Joe Trohman. ‘Slipstream’ feels like a welcome punch to the face, with the finale ‘Skorpio’ giving one last powerful beat with lyrics that rip into the real world.
The album stays consistent in its feel and sound, emphasising McClelland’s stormy, distorted guitar riffs that stick with you well after a track’s finished, to bassist Logan Miller bringing the heat with intense bass lines. Underpinning all of this is Josh Pehrson’s riotous drum beats that bring it all together to sound like a call to arms.
Impossible World captures the essence of punk rock while shining a spotlight on what’s wrong and why we should be mad about it. It’s relentless and fired up and not here to fuck around.
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