The Lion's Daughter – Future Cult album review

Though this Missouri-based trio have been active since 2007, it wasn’t until 2016’s lividly sludgy Existence Is Horror that people really began to sit up and take notice. While the band could have easily churned out more of the same for their third album, instead they’ve chosen to head down a pretty different path, with the increasingly prominent use of blaring synths and shimmering, John Carpenter-esque keys being one of the first things that strikes you about the record. It’s a bold move, and when it pays off, it creates something that sounds like little else in contemporary extreme metal. Suicide Market weaves all manner of obtuse bleeps into a morose post-metal soundscape like a chiptune Neurosis, while Grease Infant pairs eerie Castlevania-style keys against belligerent black metal battery before levelling out into a robust post-punk stomp, à la Killing Joke, as guitarist/vocalist Rick Giordano comes close to busting a lung.

Unfortunately this experimentation comes at the expense of the band’s fury more than a few times, with songs like the title track and The Gown feeling more like rough outlines of ideas rather than fully developed songs. The album’s flow suffers as a result; while Existence Is Horror came crashing down on the listener with an intimidatingly keen focus, Future Cult feels a bit more disjointed and unsure of itself. It’s heartening to see The Lion’s Daughter continue to play with expectations and expand their sound, but unfortunately this isn’t quite the incendiary slap to the face that Existence Is Horror was. However, it bodes well for the band’s future; if they can harness their previous energy alongside this record’s creepier, more atmospheric vibe for their next album, they’ll be on to something very special indeed.