STREAM: Trap Lord "Drowning in the Wave"

Gracing Denton's heavy music scene with a thunderous crash, Trap Lord's debut album Drowning in the Wave is nothing short of cavernous, muddy, and unrelentingly heavy. Elements of death metal, thrash metal, and hardcore combine to create a record that is as unabating as it is powerful, leaving the listener dragged undertow into an underworld of driving, hellishly intoxicating heavy metal. 

There is an unshakable sense of morbidity to the release, promulgated by the record's bass-heavy production, unsettling atmospheric transitions, and abrasive screams. The riffs on the record draw heavy influence from thrash and hardcore — chugging and power chord-heavy, mixed with muddy, flat, and raw tonalities.

The vocals are a potent deliverance of distorted, distant echoes, almost sounding watery at times, pairing well with the title of the album and the opening track “Vomiting Underwater on Acid in Mexico.” The drums offer a relentless and battering force to the record, solidifying the drive of each song and pounding the listener into submission. There is an unmistakable sincerity to the record; it seems to hurtle toward one like a sonic wall of bass-driven fervor.

The tracks on this release are delivered to you abruptly and slowed only by the eerie transitional moments of piercing reverb or dungeon-like ambiance. Only one track, “Idle Minds,” exceeds three minutes, making the release brief yet crushing. The album ends with “Black Resin”, a pulverizing conclusion and a personal favorite, with tonalities which compare closely to '90s death metal releases.  
   
Noisy, driving, and sparingly atonal, Trap Lord’s debut release is a force to be reckoned with. It’s also important to note that proceeds from sales of the album will be directly donated to the Denton Humane Society. 
   

Header image courtesy of Trap Lord
Header image layout designed by Christopher Rodgers