FANE never really tried to flatten me with this record.
Funny thing is, I expected exactly that. Louisiana sludge, two people, an album called Armageddon Scars… I figured it’d come straight out swinging.
It doesn’t.
The heavier parts are all there, but they don’t arrive in a rush. The record seems perfectly happy letting things build at their own pace instead of proving how crushing it can be every thirty seconds. I appreciated that more with each listen.
Ryan Ashmore and Trey Porche never sound like they’re trying to fill space either. Didn’t even cross my mind that this was only two musicians. Nothing feels thin. Nothing feels like it’s missing another guitar somewhere in the mix.
That surprised me.
There’s also something rough about the performances that I hope they never lose. Not sloppy. Just human. The playing isn’t ironed flat, and the record is better because of it. Plenty of heavy albums disappear under editing these days. This one still sounds like people standing in a room pushing air around.
Somewhere in the middle I caught myself thinking, “that riff could’ve come from Crowbar”. A few minutes later that thought had already disappeared again. Same thing happened with YOB once. They pass through your head for a second, then the record goes back to sounding like itself.
One section really caught me off guard because the band eased off instead of dropping another huge riff. I actually expected the obvious payoff there. It never came. Then, when the guitars finally did crash back in later, they felt twice as heavy.
Didn’t spend much time picking apart the lyrics. I was too busy following the mood. There’s a worn-out feeling hanging over the whole album that hit me harder than any single line could have. Not dramatic. Just… tired.
Second listen was different from the first. Little things started sticking out. A melody sitting underneath the main riff. The drummer nudging the song somewhere else with a tiny change instead of a big fill. I’d completely missed both the night before.
That’s probably why I kept going back.
Not because I was trying to understand it.
Mostly because I wanted to hear those parts again.
A few days later I realised I’d played the album several times without ever really deciding to.
That’s usually when I know a record has done its job.
Stream the album in full below and let it speak for itself:
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Released by Octopus Rising on August 28th, 2026
PR â Grand Sounds PR
