Much like last year’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra effort, this short but blistering 6-track EP (though only 3 actual songs) from Indianapolis’s Mauled is a throwback to the Myspace, early /mid 00s era of deathcore. Specifically, the likes of Suicide Silence, Whitechapel, All Shall Perish, My Bitter End, and Embrace the End.
No blackened or symphonic elements here, no super demonic vocals, none of those super heavy now required, breakdowns that get slower and heavier. Just classic deathcore. Though there are 2 atmospheric bookends to start and end the devastation. The vocals of Abe Kirkpatrick are mainly in a higher register/pitch, and the breakdowns are classic breakdowns from that era.
As if to hammer home the influence, Emmure’s Frankie Palmeri appears on the true opener after an intro, “Mouthful Of Glass”, and it hits hard with classic deathcore structures. The next proper track is “TheLastThingYouSee”, which opens with a massive breakdown, straight from the All Shall Perish playbook, but its gang chorus has a little Angelmaker as well. So modern non-symphonic deathcore fans should dig this as well.
After the short stab of “Unidentifiable Autopsy”, the last proper track, “Drop Dead Gorgeous” features JP Kaine of Surfaced, (and a classic ‘eeh-yeaoh’ grunt), and is a moodier, more menacing number before the atmospheric closer “For Me… It’s Always Like This”, shows the band’s softer side, but feels tacked on.
A pretty promising EP from a young band I’ll be watching out for, for future releases.
