At this point, it's safe to say that Maryland's Full Of Hell are an extreme-metal institution, a prolific force that never stops changing. Full Of Hell ended 2023 by releasing When No Birds Sang, a truly great collaborative album with Nothing. Last year, they released two more LPs: the full-on grindcore attack Coagulated Bliss and the more esoteric Scraping The Divine, the latter of which is a collaboration with the Toronto industrial artist Kevin Nolan. Now, Full Of Hell have another EP ready to drop.
Full Of Hell recorded their forthcoming seven-song EP Broken Sword, Rotten Shield with producer Kevin Bernstein. The record's Bandcamp description explains that Broken Sword, Rotten Shield serves as "a blistering meditation on love, loss, and the crushing inevitability of grief," depicted through the metaphorical lens of fantastical medieval battle. Lead single "Knight's Oath" is a tortured death metal freakout. The video, from directorsSam DiGristine and Patrick Costello, is full of anthropomorphic-animal warriors. Frontman Dylan Walker says that the song is about "absolute dedication to your charge, be it a person you love or held tenet, and the ignominy that comes with a sudden defeat. That idea acts as a metaphor for the grief you feel when you lose an animal companion. It feels pointless, cruel, and void in the moment. The video channels those ideas and takes the viewer on a quest with our noble dog knight and his cohorts as they quest for glory and wealth in the face of darkness."
Next month, Full Of Hell will head out on a North American tour with Harms Way, Kruelty, Jarhead Fertilizer, and Clique. That promises to be an extremely heavy night out. Below, check out the "Knight's Oath," the Broken Sword, Rotten Shield tracklist, and the dates of that tour.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Broken Sword, Rotten Shield"
02 "From Dog’s Mouth, A Blessing"
03 "Corpselight"
04 "Lament Of All Things"
05 "Mirrorhelm"
06 "Knight’s Oath"
07 "To Ruin And The World’s Ending"
TOUR DATES:
5/15 - Daytona, FL @ Welcome to Rockville *
5/16 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre *%
5/18 - Milwaukee, WI @ Milwaukee Metal Fest *
5/19 - St Louis, MO @ Blueberry Hill Duck Room *
5/20 - Louisville, KY @ Portal *
5/21 - Nashville, TN @ Exit/In *
5/23 - Denton, TX @ Rubber Gloves *
5/24 - Austin, TX @ Empire Garage *
5/25 - Houston, TX @ The Secret Group *
5/27 - Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade *
5/28 - Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall *
5/30 - Richmond, VA @ The Canal Club *
5/31 - Baltimore, MD @ Baltimore Soundstage *
6/01 - Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts *
6/02 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom *
6/04 - Amityville, NY @ Amityville Music Hall *
6/05 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Underground *
6/06 - Boston, MA @ The Middle East *
6/07 - Montreal, QC @ Theatre Fairmount *
6/08 - Toronto, ON @ The Axis Club *
* with Harms Way, Kruelty, Jarhead Fertilizer, & Clique
% with Sanguisugabogg, Gridiron, & Mutilatred
The Broken Sword, Rotten Shield EP is out 5/16 on Closed Casket Activities.
