Process of guilt are a Portuguese sludge band who operate in the same rarefied field as pack leaders Neurosis, and here, on their third album, they craft a work that is challenging, aggressive and utterly monolithic. This is not music for the faint of heart, melodies are deep within the wounded heart of this heavily armoured vocals, such as they are, a howls of barely-articulated rage buried underneath the tumultuous walls of guitar, but for those who are willing to stay the course, this is an album that will repay the patience and diligence you put into it ten-fold.
Sludge has always been a difficult genre. Easy to play badly, the leaders of the field imbue their work with layers, subtlety and shade and light.   Process of guilt are one such band, and ‘Faemin’ is a dark, multi-faceted work that swallows you whole like quicksand until its dying notes bleed from the speakers and you are finally set free once more. Like many stronger medicines that come with a warning not to operate heavy machinery or take whilst driving, Process of guilt are not a band to throw on in the background if you have something to do – this music will not be ignored.
Opening track ‘Empire’ says all you really need to know about the album. Opening on a contemplative note it steadily builds into a surging wall of noise, the vocals muddy and indistinct whilst the band add layer upon layer of molten guitar over the nine minute epic that it is. There is no respite, no remorse, just a single spiralling riff laden with hate and fury circling and growing, forcing its way into existence in an act of destructive terrorism that threatens to tear the fabric of the universe with its blinding rage. Remarkably you are not even given a second to draw breath as the song segues straight into the chugging dirge of ‘Blindfold’, a similarly immense track that is as deep and dark as an obsidian lagoon and yet… and yet through minute variations the riffs and songs never stagnate. Drum patterns change, guitar layers are added or stripped away and the longer you listen the more subtle touches force their way to the surface and you realise how much care has gone into constructing each diamond hard passage.
At just over six minutes, ‘harvest’ is the shortest track on this album, but no less brutal. Hauling itself with palpable effort from a screech of feedback, the sound is filtered through a variety of effects and filters, the riffs echoing and twisted before clearing up in time for the vocals to come tearing over the surface, leaving you to imagine the singer, veins and tendons stood out upon his neck in sharp relief against the stage lights, pouring his emotions into each tortured syllable. Things finally slow for the hypnotic ‘cleanse’ which is beautiful in a twisted way, the feedback coalescing over the throbbing bass to form its own melody, the vocals still brutal yet carefully restrained, the whole forming a textured web of mesmerising, shimmering wonder in the midst of the searing horror found elsewhere on the record. It is a monumental and brilliant moment.
The final, title, track to the album has much to live up to, but if anything is obvious thus far, it is surely that Process of guilt are building up tot eh epic conclusion of their album and as they allow the conclusion of ‘Cleanse’ to drift into feedback so you know that when ‘Feamin’ surfaces, it is likely to be an unholy beast. Like so much here, despite its superficial ferocity, ‘Faemin’ is a work of subtlety, its bruising riffs set to awkward time signatures and laden with a menacing air that the band build upon, adding touches and flourishes that only being to impinge upon the consciousness after repeated listens. It is a suitably explosive finale to the album.
Fans of neurosis will instantly know, understand and love Process of guilt. For newcomers to the sludge genre it will take a little longer. This is not easy music, nor is it music to simply play whilst you concentrate on something else. This is a long, dark cleansing of the soul performed by a band at the peak of their not inconsiderable powers and it requires; no, demands, your concentration. Best played as a whole, the single tracks nowhere near as powerful in isolation, this is a record best played with the lights dimmed and the phone switched off. Powerful, occasionally beautiful and never less than stunning, ‘Faemin’ is, without a shadow of a doubt, a masterpiece within its field. An essential addition for those who like to explore the squirming underbelly of heavy metal, Process of guilt have wrought an intelligent, brutal piece of art that will be hard indeed to top.
As always – don’t just take our word for it – check out a track here:
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