
Talking about a record without taking into account past and present releases that occurred in the same stylistic segment? Easy, but only in words. Unfortunately for Halter, in fact, the writer listened to their record alternating it with Hamferd’s magnificent Evst, whose review can be read on IYE these very days. Therefore, not so much to the demerit of the Russian combo as because of the Faroese band’s capital proof, Omnipresence Of Rat Race appears even more only as a discrete proof under the banner of a death doom not even too conventional, given the different variations on the theme that follow one another within it; for example, the opener …Of The Part Of Herd, by detachment the best episode, brings with it moods of the very first Type 0 Negative (those of Slow Deep And Hard, to be clear) exhibiting moments of sure merit. In general, Halter‘s sound unfolds between dry, almost axe-cut riffs alternating with appreciable melodic outlets, all overlaid by a decidedly deep growl adequate to represent the deeply misanthropic moods that animate Graves Are Not Full, and the acrid resentment of Grey-Blooded and Autumn Night, which constitute, however, as a whole, the least convincing part of the album. The closing, entrusted to the long and dramatic Zone Of Alienation, brings the work back to medium-high levels, thanks to the recovery of more melodic passages, especially by the lead guitar, which is able to make its way through the gloomy livor that remains the common trait of all the tracks. Halter put out an all in all interesting record, although the lack of dynamicity of the riffs at most junctures, in the long run, makes listening more tiring than it should be; from what is known, however, this full length constitutes the first ever release for the band and, therefore, also for this it deserves a wide sufficiency.
2013 – MFL Records
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