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Kurt Ballou deserves a lie-down. Converge’s guitarist has outdone himself overseeing Endon’s second LP. This Japanese ‘catastrophic noise-metal’ group benefits from his claustrophobic production job, allowing each member to push the blackened, grind-flecked madness further than ever before. Nerve Rain’s Swans-esque punishment juxtaposes Perversion Till Death’s 10-minute sludge-o-rama, and everything between is just as filthy. This is Vampillia and Gnaw Their Tongues covering Lifelover; straight-up hardcore grooves on Your Ghost Is Dead and the title track soon give way to icy shards of the blackest black metal imaginable. Poppy sensibilities hide within walls of feedback and absolute extremity, Taichi Nagura’s inhuman screams and growls making this more than a band, more than an album. This plays like a therapy session, Taichi wailing, laughing, weeping away demons. It’s horrifying and, armed with bass strings seemingly made of spaghetti, Endon have crafted a disturbing document in Through The Mirror. Album of the year material, it’ll make you shit your pants.

Alec is a longtime contributor with first-class BA Honours in English with Creative Writing, and has worked for Metal Hammer since 2014. Over the years, he's written for Noisey, Stereoboard, uDiscoverMusic, and the good ship Hammer, interviewing major bands like Slipknot, Rammstein, and Tenacious D (plus some black metal bands your cool uncle might know). He's read Ulysses thrice, and it got worse each time.