“Scorned by the blaze of death, to drift is to stumble, to stumble is to fall.”
Heriot are a band that have burst onto the UK scene seemingly overnight. Capturing the hearts of many scene-dwellers faster than many other bands that have come before them, the heavy-hitter quartet have been making waves over the past year or so. In spite of this growth, the release of Profound Morality this week via Church Road marks the group’s very first extended release. Written over a five-day period in 2021, as discussed by drummer Julian Gage in our recent feature piece on the group, Profound Morality seeks to only bolster why Heriot stand as one of the most beloved and promising up-and-comers in the UK metal world.
Let’s get this straight right away: Heriot are fucking heavy. Their oppressive, aggressive sound is a lot to stomach at times, in a way I can only truly commend them for. However, pure obliterating violence doesn’t seem to be the only trick up their sleeve. Littered among Profound Morality are hints of something more, something equally sinister, but in a more reserved way. Opener “Abaddon” exemplifies this right away, with an eerie, almost industrial-esque introduction, littered with all the dark synth work you’d more readily expect out of Nine Inch Nails or a late-career Code Orange than a metalcore band in its infancy.
Following track “Coalescence” drops the listener more avidly into Heriot’s core soundscape. Pounding drums, punishing chugs and a palpable level of atmosphere in almost all facets of its production that it’s hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed at times. This is all to its credit, however, as “Coalescence” provides a bite-sized taste of all things to come. Terrifying atmospheric work, violent metalcore and post-metal-inspired instrumental work, alongside some stellar vocal performances. Lead vocalist and guitarist Debbie Gough sounds ferocious here to say the least. Laying out some truly piercing screams amongst the track’s more open moments gives it a truly unsettling feeling, while her vocal interplay with more low-growl-oriented vocalist and bassist Jake Packer provides a sense of contrast in their oppressive nature.
Subsequent tracks “Carmine (Fills the Hollow)” and “Near Vision” then set aside any and all notion of ‘holding back’, providing two back-to-back sub-two-minute ragers that seem surgically crafted to get as many people hurt in a pit as possible. These two tracks paired together, followed by a gorgeously haunting bridge/interlude track in “Mutagen” are the perfect one-two (and technically -three) punch to keep Profound Morality flowing as brilliantly as it does. It’s quite an undertaking making an EP with a structure as ‘broken up’ on paper as Profound Morality is feel quite as engaging and well-considered as it does. Through this, every moment feels calculated and earned, and I’d chalk this up to just how quickly this thing came together, as discussed in our aforementioned feature piece with Gage, as this thing feels so concise for as theoretically obtuse as it is (an eight-track EP with three interlude(-adjacent) tracks, with two of its main tracks being under two minutes), but that’s only to Heriot’s credit as songwriters.
Other highlights toward the EP’s backend include “Enter the Flesh” and its wild, almost Slayer-esque thrash-metal guitar solo, replete with all the 80s distortion, wails and balls-to-the-wall chaos and speed as you’d expect from the very best Kerry King solo. Further, closing track “Profound Morality” is perhaps the most diverse and truly complete song on the entire EP. Punishing riffs and brooding atmosphere aplenty, but with the much-welcome addition of clean vocals taking the forefront for much of its four-minute runtime. The track takes an almost-doom-metal approach as its breaks down toward its back end, with droning guitars and downtempo drum work ushering the EP out in a sludgy haze of violent noise.
All in all, with Profound Morality, Heriot have captured their potential, fully realized it, and then some. If this is how their debut has come to be, especially in less than a week of writing, a full-scale production time and budget for a full-length LP could potentially see Heriot become one of the biggest names in UK metal, and maybe the metal world at large too. A palpable, brooding atmosphere lines each and every track on Profound Morality, with enough complimentary blinding aggression and downright violent instrumental work to keep each track feeling as fresh and eerie as the last, in an impressive variety of ways through the band’s terrifying sound palette. Heriot are certainly gonna be one to look out for in the coming years, as if Profound Morality is a sign of things to come, the world is not gonna be ready for what comes next.
9.5/10
Profound Morality will be available this Friday, April 29th via Church Road Records, and you can find both physical and digital pre-orders here.