Auditory Trauma: Full of Hell Isolation Sessions

The coronavirus pandemic has been as strange a time for music as it has for society in general. How much the effects of the pandemic has actually had on the nature of the music been played is up for debate, although one of my online chats was recently musing about how many bad solo musicians must have made songs called "Isolation" set to drawn-out minor chords. While it sure as hell slowed it down for a while, artists still managed to get records out and there have been plenty in 2020 and 2021. What it really screwed up was live show. Countless live venues have been run out of business. Many have adapted the best they can under the circumstances - the one closest to me has survived by selling pierogis for pick up and Uber Eats. More are facilitating livestream events, as is the case for Full of Hell performing at Underground Arts. They're the best joint (or should I say jawn?) in Philly according to my friend from the area. I can see why - the sound is captured with finesse, which is especially impressive given how abrasive and chaotic Full of Hell is.

At the risk of sounding like a bad fan, Full of Hell songs often blend together for me on an album. That's part of my attraction to powerviolence, it's an incredibly abrasive and high-octane experience. It's more about the power and urgency of the whole album than select cuts. Not to say that albums don't have high water marks or points of departure, but by and large its a very album-oriented genre for me. This isn't really an album where I'm like "oh, that's my favourite cut off of Rudiments of Mutilation" or "damn, could have chose their songs better from Roots of Earth are Consuming my Home." The eras are not undiscernible though. For example, it's not hard to tell the more death metal adjacent tracks are off of Trumpeting Ecstacy. I'm admittedly not huge on live albums, but I think I like it more here given the way I appreciate Full of Hell. The one great thing I will praise about their track ordering is I love how they ended on a sludgier outing, true to the powerviolence spirit. The mixing of eras makes for a good mix of energies and makes for some nice variation. Since I'm not as focused on individual tracks, it's just a nice ass-whipping ride with a different flow and energy than their normal albums. The one thing I will praise about their track ordering is I love how they ended on a sludgier outing, true to the powerviolence spirit.

If I'm being honest here, Auditory Trauma might of well been a studio recording - the sound is so well captured that you could have very well fooled me into thinking these were studio re-recordings. Seeing Full of Hell live is a real treat and I'm glad I got to catch a basement gig. Their shows are much like their albums - abrasive, brutish and short (and for the record I caught them at the aforementioned pierogi slinging venue). While live music may have been down and out for a long stretch - and is still on ice in many locales - live streams may be the best thing for many. While I must admit I'm not a full convert to live streams and albums, this is undeniably better than most and the sound is phenomenal. Catch them live if you can though once society is starting to resemble something closer to normal