''Sewn Mouth Secrets'' is the second studio album from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

-based

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

band

Soilent Green Soilent Green is an American grindcore/sludge metal band formed in 1988 in Chalmette/ Metairie on the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana. History Soilent Green was founded in 1988, but their debut album was not released until 1995, when '' Pu ...

. It was released on October 6, 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 Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded by Matthew F. Jacobson in 1990. The label features many grindcore, death metal, metalcore and sludge metal artists. History The ...

. 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 Tempe ( ; ''Oidbaḍ'' in O'odham language, O'odham) is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, with the Census Bureau reporting a 2020 population of 180,587. The city is named after the Vale of Tempe in Greece. Tempe is located in t ...

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

. Liner notes. The album was finally released on October 6, 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 Mus ...

, 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' 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 from Los Angeles, California. It was originally formed in 1985 as Unknown Death by vocalist Oscar Garcia and guitarist Jesse Pintado. They would rename themselves Terrorizer after recruiting drummer Pete ...

''s top albums of 1998.

Music and artwork

The record features Soilent Green's mixture of

grindcore Grindcore is an extreme metal, extreme fusion genre of heavy metal music, 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, e ...

and

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom or simply sludge) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that combines elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. The genre generally includes slow tempos, down-tuned guitars and nihilis ...

. 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 metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...

screams; a

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

-derived, semi-barking voice; spoken word passages; and

death growl The death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other Extreme metal, extreme Heavy metal genres, subgenres of heavy metal music. Sometimes death gro ...

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, death metal and their respective subgenres,Adam MacGregor, '' PCP Torpedo'' ...

s, moments very complex musically and

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...

-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 musician best known as the lead singer for groove metal band Pantera, southern metal supergroup Down (band), Down, and Hardcore punk, hardcore band Superjoint, amongst other musical proj ...

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 cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the prog ...

. 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, he was widely known for his distinctly stylized ...

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