“The links in the chain are only meant to bleed.“
King Yosef as a project is one that has rarely stood out, finding its origins in an industrial electronic sound, blending elements of hip-hop and EBM. With a host of collaborations with the likes of Vincente Void and Youth Code, even from the outset, King Yosef‘s sound was always one that was set to defy any narrow genre margins. Recent work has begun to explore the punk and metal space more, with the record An Underlying Hum traversing through trauma with a blistering hardcore sound, laced with interludes and moments of electronic work akin to Nine Inch Nails that King Yosef has perfected over the years.
Then the next evolution came, with the set of singles “Cut The Cord/Shame’s Mirror” and “Mist Of Pain/Dredge“, both grabbing the heavier elements of the discography and adding another hellish layer to them while still maintaining the well-known sound on cuts such as “Dredge“. What was evident, though, is that another iteration of King Yosef‘s sound would soon be upon us, the heaviest and most metal-oriented one yet. That has now led us to the latest record from the Portland stalwart, in the form of Spire of Fear.
There is an unnerving nature to Spire of Fear from the outset, like peering through a creaking door where only darkness can be seen, as “Feoil” moves between jarring yells and eerie string plucks. Yet as “Molting Fear” hits, that door is slammed shut and a trap door opens up beneath, dropping the record into the crushing industrial metal soundscapes King Yosef has crafted. BDM-esque blast beats fill the tracks, as pounding synths crank away like a nightmarish alarm. Fear is the main course here, and it is inescapable as Spire Of Fear welcomes us in.
These racing tracks, which feel like running through a concrete maze, are present early on, with the likes of “Vi Coactus” and “Doomtown” crafting heart-racing sounds. Yosef is now showcasing some of their strongest harsh vocals, a commanding presence with rage and anguish-filled expression. The breakdown in “Vi Coactus” is utterly insane, and one that injects a wave of adrenaline through the body. This isn’t to say the only heavy cuts come from when Spire of Fear leans into its metal influences. “Lichen” is a brooding and all-consuming track that sees heavy industrial sounds that Author & Punisher have leaned into. “Wither” does a similar job in its latter half, teasing the old EBM sound before bursting into a full rage-laden hardcore breakdown.
The lone feature on Spire of Fear comes from Holy Fawn on “Glimmer“, a beat-laden industrial soundscape. The Arionza unit enter to add an air of eerie atmosphere, before the barks of Yosef break through the track. It’s here on this early track that the themes of the record are declared, as Yosef yells “Degradation comes crawling near, through rusted eyes we shed fear“. With many of the tracks concerning confronting one’s fears and anxieties, and moving them through with defiance, “Wither” boldly states:
“What’s worse than death
is to be defeated
I’ve done my time
struggled with the meaning
To endure is to be free
and every part I rip away
only bleeds“
Drawn back track “Blue Morning” and “Walter” act as more ruminating tracks, as if almost one last look back before moving on, as Yosef sings “I’ll sift through the dirt for the last time“. The titular track delivers King Yosef‘s industrial metal epic, blending moments of black metal riffs before moving into heavy hardcore grooves. As “As I face eternity, I’ll never turn away” is yelled before the track exits into ambient sounds, Spire of Fear has confronted and challenged itself both instrumentally and conceptually in a way few records do.
As mentioned, King Yosef has rarely stood still with their work, branching out into sounds and collaborations that have drawn many an ear. For all those moments where the opportunity to stick with a sound could have arisen, and perhaps the sound crafted on An Underlying Hum was the most opportune, Yosef has pushed forward onto something else and will no doubt again follow Spire of Fear. For now, and while this could easily change given the talent at hand with King Yosef, Spire of Fear stands as their strongest work to date. Spire of Fear delivers an industrial metal sound that seeks to challenge the boundaries of the genres it pulls from, with lyrical content that will do the same to those who pass through.
9/10
Spire of Fear has been released as of today, August 15th, via BLEAKHOUSE, and can be pre-ordered here.