''Sewn Mouth Secrets'' is the second full-length album from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is bord ...

-based heavy metal band

Soilent Green Soilent Green is an American extreme metal band formed in 1988 in Chalmette/ Metairie on the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. Described as a sludge metal and grindcore band, the group blends elements of death metal, black metal, hardcore, an ...

. It was released on September 22, 1998.

History

''Sewn Mouth Secrets'' was Soilent Green's first full-length album to be released on

Relapse Records Relapse Records is an American independent record label based in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The label w ...

. They had already worked with the label for their previous EP ''A String of Lies''. It was recorded in 1998, on May 22 through June 1; it was produced by Keith Falgout and Soilent Green. It was mixed during the June 20 and 21 of the same year at Festival Studios by Keith Falgout and the band. It was mastered by Dave Shirk at Sonorous Mastering, Inc., in

Tempe, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...

. ''Sewn Mouth Secrets & A String of Lies''.

. Liner notes. The album was finally released on September 22, 1998. Scott Hull remastered the album at Visceral Sound for a compilation with the EP ''A String of Lies'' which was released on October 11, 2005. The album was generally well received. It was given a 4.5 out of 5 by William York of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

, who called it "the band's strongest effort to date." It made ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' call Soilent Green one of the "ten most important hard and heavy bands right now" and was 18th on ''

Terrorizer Terrorizer is an American grindcore band formed in 1986 in Los Angeles, California. After disbanding, its members gained recognition by playing in influential extreme metal bands, such as Morbid Angel ( David Vincent, Pete Sandoval), Napalm ...

''s top albums of 1998.

Music and artwork

The record features Soilent Green's mixture of

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme fusion genre of heavy metal and hardcore punk that originated in the mid-1980s, drawing inspiration from abrasive-sounding musical styles, such as thrashcore, crust punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal, and industrial. ...

and

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavil ...

. According to William York from

, "each song is a nonstop sequence of constantly morphing riffs and assaultive, split-personality vocals, leaving listeners little chance to catch their breaths." Throughout, frontman Ben Falgoust alternates between

black metal Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures, and an em ...

screams; a hardcore-derived, semi-barking voice; spoken word passages; and

death growl A death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Death growl vocals are sometimes criticized for the ...

s. According to York, "his varied vocals, together with his sadistic lyrics, make for a frightening and intense presence." During the album the band uses Southern-flavored rock grooves,

blast beat A blast beat is a type of drum beat that originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, and is often associated with certain styles of extreme metal, namely black metal and death metal,Adam MacGregor, ''PCP Torpedo'' by Agoraphobic Nosebleed ...

s, moments very complex musically and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

-inspired riffs. There are a few quiet moments, like the intros on "Build Fear" and "Her Unsober Ways." Although not credited,

Phil Anselmo Philip Hansen Anselmo (born June 30, 1968) is an American heavy metal vocalist best known as the lead singer for Pantera, Down, and Superjoint, amongst other musical projects. He is the owner of Housecore Records. Anselmo is regarded as o ...

provided backing vocals on the album. He is given thanks in the

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

. The cover of the album is based on a picture by

Alfons Mucha Alfons Maria Mucha (; 24 July 1860 – 14 July 1939), known internationally as Alphonse Mucha, was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist, living in Paris during the Art Nouveau period, best known for his distinctly stylized and decorat ...

Track listing

All songs by Soilent Green. # "It Was Just an Accident" – 4:12 # "So Hatred" – 3:48 # "Build Fear" – 2:48 # "Looking Through Nails" – 3:03 # "Breed in Weakness" – 4:13 # "Cold-Steel Kiss" – 3:37 # "Openless" – 0:26 # "Her Unsober Ways" – 4:03 # "Sewn Mouth Secrets" – 5:24 # "Walk a Year in My Mind" – 5:10 # "Gagged Whore" – 4:23 # "Emptiness Found" – 3:42 # "Sticks and Stones" – 0:53

Personnel

*Louis Benjamin Falgoust II – vocals *Brian Patton – lead guitar *Donovan Punch – rhythm guitar * Scott Williams – bass *Tommy Buckley – drums *

– backing vocals (uncredited) *Keith Falgout – producer, mixer *Dave Shirk – mastering

Notes

References

{{Authority control Soilent Green albums 1998 albums Relapse Records albums