ALBUM REVIEW: Filth – Southern Hostility

’…a brilliantly fun listen that feels like a breath of fresh air for heavy music, challenging modern tropes of the genre…’

Get your Nan out of the room, because when you get this record on, you’ll be spin kicking the nearest person.

I’ve already spoken about Filth once this year. The North Carolina deathcore outfit dropped their insane single ‘Southern Hostility’ back in March, showcasing their incomparable blend of hip hop and heaviness. Now the band have dropped the album of the same name, and it doing so, have probably released one of the most exhilarating heavy albums of 2024.

As mentioned, the band blend together aggressive 90’s hip hop and brutal deathcore stylings, and the resulting product often has some insane results. Filth sound utterly unrepentant, with slick vocal flows and violent lyricism perfectly complemented by some of the most disgustingly heavy instrumental work; all of it is brought together by some fantastic mixing that truly makes each track on this record sound utterly immense in scale.

Tracks such as ‘Stay Gutter’ and ‘Southern Hostility’ perfectly exemplify Filth’s creative ethos, bringing the raw aggression of deathcore to life in new and inventive ways, whether it’s the swaggering rapped verses, or the thick bass lines and overwhelmingly distorted riffs that simply bludgeon the listener.

Despite the pure hostility of much of the album’s lyricism, however, there is a real theme of defending your culture and community that runs deep throughout, especially on tracks such as ‘Chin Check’. It’s as much of a love letter to the hardcore scene as it is a warning shot at those who seek to change it for the worse. It’s also a clear reminder that hardcore, and rock in general, was built off the backs of black musicians, and those that seek to ignore those roots will no longer be welcomed.

On top of all of this, the vocal performance from — is frankly astonishing. With pure effortlessness, he is able to cover the entire spectrum of unclean vocals without once losing power, maintaining a menacing and powerful presence throughout the entire album. There’s a violent venom in his delivery, and you truly feel every single ounce of it.

From start to finish, ‘Southern Hostility’ is a simply a brilliantly fun listen that feels like a breath of fresh air for heavy music, challenging modern tropes of the genre with new and exciting ideas that will appeal to old heads as much as it will newcomers. The musicianship is electrifying, the vocals are terrifying, and not once do Filth let you believe that this is anything but their world you’re living in.

Rating: 80/100 – Very Good

For Fans Of: [Null], Limp Bizkit, Knocked Loose, Skindred, Chat Pile, Speed

Physical copies of the album are available to purchase here.

Follow the band on social media below:

Instagram // Spotify // Twitter