Signs of the Swarm – ‘Amongst The Low & Empty’ [Album Review]

As a general rule of thumb, deathcore bands don’t tend to mess about when it comes to getting to the point. Pittsburgh maulers Signs of the Swarm are no exception, as you will discover the moment their latest album, Amongst The Low & Empty, slams you straight in the face with the breezeblock-heavy title track.

The follow-up to 2021’s Absolvere effort, Amongst The Low & Empty is an absolutely punishing affair. Now, while listening to the thudding crunch pumping around the veins of this album, there are plenty of moments where the band flexes their creative wings, adding a splash of colour to the dark heart that keeps this album going. Take a track like “Shackles Like Talons,” which sits midway through the album with a haunting atmosphere and crushing breakdowns.

Of course, no album of this nature would be the same without a vocalist who sounds like hell on earth and, in frontman David Simonich, Signs of the Swarm have a man capable of pulling every trick out of the bag. Matching the disturbing aura of the band’s sounds with a range that has it all – filthy lows, saliva-drenched gutturals and feral highs, Simonich has a voice that matches whatever mood this album has lurched into.

Whether it is jackhammer-heavy deathcore offerings like “Pray for Death” or the more atmospheric moments of tracks like “Malady,” Amongst The Low & Empty effortlessly combines unrelenting brutality with a disturbing, unnerving air. Yes, we know plenty of other bands are doing similar things as these Pittsburgh chaps, but there are few as harrowing and consistently punishing as this one.

Amongst the Low & Empty Track Listing:

1. Amongst The Low & Empty
2. Tower of Torsos
3. Pray For Death
4. Borrowed Time
5. Fire & Stone
6. Shackles Like Talons
7. Dreamkiller
8. The Witch Beckons
9. Echelon
10. Faces Without Names
11. Malady

Run Time: 42:10
Released Date: July 28, 2023
Record Label: Century Media Records