After emerging as one of the UK’s best young metal bands in recent years, the time has come for Heriot to deliver their debut album. Questionably arriving with heightened expectations, ‘Devoured By The Mouth of Hell’ sees the quartet acutely reach them.

While Heriot’s bread and butter is a mix of thrash, sludge and black metal, ‘Devoured…’ is far from a sheer barrage of noise. Where others would have leaned into the traits that got a band like Heriot to this point, instead they’ve used the opportunity to expand and explore their sound. For every raw onslaught of meaty metal there is, like opener ‘Foul Void’, there are moments like the electronic drum pumping and shoegaze alluring ‘Lashed’. Yet it never comes off as disjointed, constantly maintaining a sense of swirling demonic descent. Take ‘Siege Lord’ for example. It’s a gut-punching, chugging behemoth aided by an industrial errieness.

Partly due to the production efforts of Sylosis’ Josh Middleton and Sikth’s Justin Hill and the mixing work of the renowned Will Putney, each member of Heriot are able to shine. Whether it’s drummer Julian Gage’s penetrating pounce on ‘Sentenced To The Blade,’ Erhan Alman’s swirling guitar solo on ‘Harm Sequence’, Debbie Gough’s thoroughly dynamic vocals, or bassist Jake Packer’s guttural roars.

‘Devoured…’s pacing is perfectly intense, delivering ravaging blasts with occasional moments of atmospheric beauty. Like ‘Lashed’, ‘Opaline’ and ‘Visage’ stop you in your tracks as Gough provides an evocative vocal display. On the latter, her melodies melt across a dystopian wasteland as rumbling instrumentation eases its way in before Packer’s screams take over its final moments.

While their stock has certainly risen since 2022’s ‘Profound Morality’, Heriot has used their experiences and opportunities to their advantage. As a result, ‘Devoured By The Mouth of Hell’ bites down on their extremities while allowing them to flesh out textured and atmospheric elements with ease. It’s unlikely you’ll hear a metal band so well-rounded on their debut full-length anytime soon.

‘Devoured by the Mouth of Hell’ by Heriot is out now on Century Media Records.