01. Hurl Your Thunderbolt Even Unto Death
02. False Grail
03. The Teeth Of Time
04. Through A Glass, Darkly
05. Exult, Ye Flagellant
Drouth have The Teeth Of Time, and want to dig their jaws into an appetizing slab of black/death metal.
Drouth (formerly known as Contempt) formed in 2014 in Portlandd, Oregan, a city renowned for its black metal scene; it’s responsible for producing some fine quality acts in the blackened death subgenre alone, such as Ævangelist, Tchornobog, and Ulthar. There’s bound to be a few hidden gems waiting to be discovered as well, and Drouth is one of these very gems. However, perhaps their obscure and mysterious identity is more to do with their preference to remain an underground act, rather than any indicator of how their music rubs off on listeners, as their records have been pretty stellar so far. The band now returns 5 years after their sophomore Excerpts From A Dread Liturgy to release their third full-length album The Teeth Of Time. There’s only one change in line-up since their previous album, that being new bassist Matt Solis (of Cormorant and Ursa), who replaced Tyler Wolfe in 2022.Â
The first thing that strikes me about the album is the extraordinary cover art created by guitarist/vocalist and main songwriter Matt Stikker himself; it has that look of utter chaos and sheer terror, something that could easily represent this subgenre all by itself. However, their style isn’t entirely blackened death metal in the traditional sense but rather a combination of the two extreme genres, perhaps more so black than death metal on this occasion. The album features 5 conceptual songs that act as a defiance against the corrosion of time, exploring decay, fate, and entropy, and forming a revolt against the idea of nihilism; the music itself, however, isn’t quite as complicated.
The opener “Hurl Your Thunderbolt Even Unto Death” begins not with extreme metal aggression, but rather in gentle fashion with soft melancholic strings, before then unleashing a blackened fury that endures for the majority of the remaining 40-minute duration. The tremolos and leads from guitar duo Stikker and John Edwards are ferocious, tonally icy-sharp, and deliciously melodic, almost sounding like a combination of Immortal and Dissection. The rhythm rampages relentlessly; drummer P. Fiorentino provides dynamic range encompassing furious blast beats and more complex patterns, while Solis’s bass pulsates prominently to add a greater density to the overall sound. Stikker’s vocals are harsh and sinister, and with the help of several guest contributions throughout the various songs, they vary from tortuous howls, harrowing screams and desperate shrieks, to beastly death growls, sometimes even presented hazily and held further back in the mix, but all converging into one evil demonic entity.
The style of the opening track is mostly sustained throughout the album, but there are a few surprise elements along the way, such as the viola performed by Eva Vonne, which spontaneously emerges to give a haunting sorrowful touch. Sometimes more emphasis is placed on creating atmosphere rather than pure ferocity, particularly on the song “Through A Glass, Darkly”, one of the more diverse tracks featured. The production has an immaculate modern standard; it’s sharp and crisp, yet at the same time has a certain edgy primeval rawness.
Whether Drouth will ever be as big as fellow acts from Portland’s black metal scene (thinking of Hulder, Leviathan, and Uada) is debatable, but in terms of their quality they certainly hold their own, and for that I believe they deserve not to be overlooked. While certainly leaning more towards the traditional black metal end of the spectrum, The Teeth Of Time is an album that manages to cover some of the basic principles of death and venture into both atmospheric and melodic territories; combined with the tremendous production and sound quality, this is a step in the right direction, and could help them gain recognition within an ever-growing scene of quality bands.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 7 |
| Songwriting: | 8 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 8 |
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Written on 27.05.2025 by
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