With the amount of new releases flooding our media services daily, one has to figure out what tactics to resort to in order to listen to a new album, and one way to go is by first glance of its artwork. While not judging a book by its cover is ever relevant in underground metal, it is rather impossible not to be tempted to check out Tithe’s second full length album Inverse Rapture, just because of this amazing design (done by Chimère Noire).
While unaware of the project, it can be said that they’re making a good case on why Inverse Rapture should stay on your playlist, as the record has been carefully catered in its short duration of almost 30 minutes. You get an idea of Tithe from the first moments of “Anthropogenic Annihilation”, which demonstrates, through thick production, the menacing doom / death metal style of the band, not short of elements of dissonance, grindcore and a bit of black metal.
With both slow and faster moments, the tracks in Inverse Rapture are ugly, fierce and with a good dosage of menacing riffs, yet there lies a hidden small disadvantage of the record in my opinion: the quality of the guitar lines at times makes waves and at other times, becomes more pale with repetitive, simplistic melodies.
Moreover, slightly more variety in the sound of the vocals would benefit the work of the band, even if the painful high pitched singing sits well but also becomes monotonous. These two points made Inverse Rapture a bit tiring to listen to whole at once, even if it’s not so lengthy, yet in a general manner Tithe have numerous fairly great elements in their music that make the record worth listening to.
Longer tracks “Inverse Rapture” and “Killing Tree” contain not just highlights, but basically the whole arsenal of the band, with shorter snippets found in the smaller pieces “Demon” or the closing “Pseudologia Fantastic”, and thankfully there are no unnecessary instrumentals or interludes anywhere. Inverse Rapture is overall enjoyable, with just a few points to be looked over and then Tithe can be discussed as a band of top calibre in the future. [3.25/5 - Good]
Release date: 17 Feb 2023 (Profound Lore Records)
Listen: Bandcamp
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