At the Heart of the World - Sorrow Uncoils

One of my favorite aspects of writing for Brutal has been the honor of meeting and cherishing new acts that I otherwise would not be aware of. Most of my playlist is filled with independent artists who I absolutely adore, most of whom I've discovered through this website. Today I add a new project to that ever expanding list of bands I've discovered and adore, and their name is At the Heart of the World. This duo has their roots in DIY punk, hardcore, and metal, though their music is centered in industrial and EBM. Members Daniel Porter and Joshua Greene have been active since 2018 as far as Bandcamp shows. 2021 sees the duo release a six track EP titled "Sorrow Uncoils". 



The EP begins with the title track 'Sorrow Uncoils'. There's an undeniable rawness to At the Heart of the World's music, and the static that was present before the big beats even began told me that from the start. This intro moment lasts for around fifty-seconds featuring noise-ambient like soundscapes and the screams from Porter's mouth. When thrust into the song, I get an earful of electro-industrial inspired metallic beats, slow moving bass, and industrial textures. 

The next track, 'Burning Through Joyless Days', brings the punk back to EBM. It's a quick, mile-a-minute piece where the beat never stops coming. Even around the one-minute mark, when there's a bit of quiet, the underlying bassline that continues underneath the spoken word vocals lends an air of tension. While not as frenetic as the previous, 'Pain Demands Attention' continues the dark descent into EBM destruction. I love the computer sounding chips that came in around the one-minute and six-second mark. At the two-minute and forty-second mark, At the Heart of the World takes this thrashy dance song and turns it one-eighty into electro-industrial territory. The beat slows and technical synth work is present more than anything else, finishing off in an moody fashion. Very well done on this one. 

'Mocked by Death (MKII)' has synths that sound like they are broken, dying, and bruised, but somehow the disturbing sound of an electronic device going into shutdown fits perfectly in with At the Heart of the World's aesthetic and music. Though screaming permeates the beginning of 'Multiply the Stillness', the beat is fairly minimal. It's not until around the one-minute and twenty second mark that further experiments are added in. The vocals are also digitally toyed with, which, as they go on throughout the song, become more and more distorted. The final song on the album has punchy bass packed into each beat and ends "Sorrow Uncoils" on a high note. 

After listening to this EP for the past week, a lot of At the Heart of the World's physical merchandise has landed into my wishlist on Bandcamp. I think their music is astonishing and fantastic, brutal and raw, powerful and threatening. To end this review, I leave you with a quote that I found to be inspiring in the press release I initially received. It reads, "Darkness will consume us all, but we can still dance toward our demise." 

This review was commissioned through our Ko-fi page.
Jun 12 2021