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Album Review | "Culling From Gods" - The Last King

by The Metalverse

Updated July 30, 2024

Album Review - The Last King "Culling From Gods" — The Last King - Spotify

Tracks

Two Roads
Ancient Master
Plotting for Demise
Signs of the Goat
Culling From Gods
False Prophets
Hypocrisy of Old
From Here to Eternity

Review

Technical Deathcore originating from New England, US, The Last King just released their latest album "Culling From Gods" on July 12th. The 8-track LP starts off with "Two Roads", which begins slowly with a clean guitar intro before launching into thrashing drum grooves, tremolo guitar, and brutally heavy screaming vocals. The Last King shows black metal influences with their racing tempos and blackened sound before slowing the pace with intensely contrasted breakdowns that showcase the band's clear deathcore style. After a quick shredding guitar solo, "Two Roads" fades out with an ambient guitar outro.

"Ancient Master" wastes no time, slamming into action with funky bass lines, overdriven guitar chugging, and powerful growls. The Last King mixes technical guitar riffage with groove-based drumming, creating memorable musical sections that are sure to leave you banging your head. "Culling From Gods" excellently formulates an ominous and evil aesthetic that works with the band's sound masterfully. Unexpectedly, The Last King throws the listener into the midst of a down-tempo and particularly violent breakdown that instantly stands out. After a soaring solo, "Ancient Master" ends with a lightning-paced thrash section.

Up next, "Plotting for Demise" kicks in with some epic guitar pinch harmonics that remind us of the brutality that ensues in "Behold The Crown" by After The Burial. The Last King continues to unleash an onslaught of expert deathcore riffage, vocal destruction, and impactful drum work before diving into an exciting breakdown with guitar dissonance and rapid double-bass drum patterns.

"Signs of the Goat" starts with djenty slapping guitar riffs that are a powerful showcase of percussive guitar techniques before moving into an ascending bending guitar riff that builds anticipation. With "Signs of the Goat" The Last King showcases their progressive/djent influences in a more concentrated manner, showing an exciting sense of diversity. In an epic finale, The Last King brings back the slapping guitar riff and transitions into a furious breakdown.

The album's title track, "Culling From Gods" takes a more straightforward old-school deathcore sound filled with violent slamming riffage, screeching guitars, and crashing drums. After some bright guitar chords, the song transitions into gentler drums and rapid picking guitar as screams build overtop of the instrumentals. The Last King excellently utilizes contrast between atmospheres to create powerful differences between gentle and heavy sections. "Culling From Gods" adds more melodic influences with bright guitar melodies forming an attractive and catchy sound that doesn't betray its earth-shatteringly heavy nature.

"False Prophets" starts with impossibly fast blast beats that bring back the band's black metal influences. Unrelentingly speedy guitar riffs, drumming, and screams create an energetic sound that's quickness contrasts the previous track. The Last King does an excellent job of blending their various metal influences like progressive metal, death metal, deathcore, black metal, and melodic metal, into one distinct sound with different songs highlighting specific genres intentionally.

"Hypocrisy of Old" introduces itself with boomingly low bass before catapulting into some good ol' classic slamming deathcore grooves. Syncopated guitar chugs create emphasis behind bright guitar leads and rugged screams as the album continues its harsh and intense musical style. After a glorious guitar solo, an ambient pad sets off a chunky breakdown that ends with an impressive guttural.

The final song, "From Here to Eternity" starts off with explosive chugging and layered guitar melodies that create an extremely heavy atmosphere that is backed up by catchy leads. The Last King brings back their melodic metal influences yet again creating a fresh sense of variety. Clocking in at just over 5 minutes, "From Here to Eternity" is a more experimental fully instrumental track that puts the band's instrumental prowess at the forefront. Filled with groovy death metal-esque riffs, speeding guitar solos, and intense breakdowns, "Frome Here to Eternity" is the perfect finish to the band's album.

"Culling From Gods" is an exciting display of all that The Last King has to offer. The band's 4th album is an impressive showcase of their distinct deathcore sound that takes influence from a wide scope of metal music. You can stream "Culling From Gods" on all streaming platforms now!