Album Review: Brotherhood Of The Lake - Desperation Is The English Way Vol. 2

Album Review: Brotherhood Of The Lake – Desperation Is The English Way Vol. 2

Terrible production can utterly ruin a great record. You can have all the elements to making something really special, but if it sounds like it was recorded in a wet cardboard box, none of that is going to matter. This is unfortunately the fate that befalls Plymouth’s Brotherhood Of The Lake, who bring us the second part of the ‘Desperation Is The English Way’ (nice Pink Floyd nod, there) series. It makes no sense whatsoever – Vol. 1 packed a serious punch, sounded crisp and rang around the synapses with unfettered power and clarity; but instead of moving forward and pushing on from an excellent 2012 which saw them play to big crowds at Hevy and supporting Gallows among many other things, this sets them right back to square one with a record that is played with all the heart and passion the quintet could surmise, but sounds like a bunch of garage band chancers,

Opener ‘Untie The Tempest’ is probably meant to overwhelm the senses with a barrage of instrumental elements on full pelt – instead, it’s a fuzzy mess that sounds like a live bootleg of a grindcore band, with vocalist Rob Clark’s (admittedly impressive) snarl the only audible aspect. ‘Grief Ritual’ opens with the tinny snare sound so many panned on Metallica’s ‘St Anger’, and not even the considerable vocal talents of Bastions’ Jamie Burne can save this one from becoming a dreary chore to experience, such is the atrocious quality of recording. All of the bands’ facets seem to be in competition for who can sound the worst – whether it be the inaudible guitar riffs, atonal basslines or a cymbal sound reminiscent of a badly-tuned TV, this is like the musical equivalent of Lord Of The Rings’ Uruk-Hai – a fearsome, monstrous presence if it wasn’t covered in a thick layer of sludge and mud.

The most disappointing thing is, there’s a really good record buried somewhere beneath the noise and confusion. ‘Black Gates’ is a brooding post-metal maelstrom, ‘Torment’ is the best song either Cursed or Rise And Fall never wrote, and finale ‘The English Way’ is the type of crushing, soul destroying slow-burner Converge could be proud of. The ferocity, potency and panache are clearly all present, but the delivery is a sonic shambles. After putting in the hours of graft last year to create a real momentum for themselves, it seems such a shame for a band as clearly talented as Brotherhood Of The Lake are to make such a dreadful sounding record, but for all their fantastic abilities, the producer has made a real hash-up of this one.

2/5

’Desperation Is The English Way Vol. 2′ by Brotherhood Of The Lake is out on the 18th March on Thirty Days Of Night Records.

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