“You say you love me while you’re pulling out a loaded gun.”
To say Left To Suffer have carved a path with their furious sound over the last 2 years would be putting it lightly. The obliterating nature of the Atlanta-based band has seen them smash their way into one of America’s most exciting prospects, and one who have become a must-see in a live setting. Now back with their third EP, And Dying Forever, Left To Suffer are sticking with their well trodden format. Debuting on A Year Of Suffering in 2020, the group offered an eight track EP, and now continued to remain with the six track format they switched on 2021’s On Death. With the two EPs coming before And Dying Forever being masterclasses in brutal nu-deathcore, there is a high standard to meet.
What’s immediately noticeable from the tracklist is the reduction is features, with the lone feature coming from trap artist Kamiyada+. Differing from the blistering features of Lochie of Alpha Wolf and Tom Barber of DARKO US, “Fixated” sees Kamiyada+ fill the chorus with his juiced up vocals. It’s one of the most unique aspects in the Left To Suffer discography to date, and to make it work as it does is impressive. The vocal hook leading with “You can do anything you want to” gives a catchy aspect that is unexpected from Left To Suffer. While maybe not as eyebrow raising initially as previous features, “Fixated” more than meets the level they set.
While what else surrounds “Fixated” is distinctly Left To Suffer retaining their low riffs and savage vocals, it perhaps leaves something to be desired. There are plenty of heavy breakdowns to throw hands to on tracks such as “Whisper”, which might be one of the most stank-face inducing songs they’ve written. The EP feels slightly lackluster in terms of its ability to pull you into the record outside of its sheer heaviness. Previous EPs have had moments such as the callouts “Lost At Last” with “Learn some fucking respect, bitch,” or “Sad to say that I wish I could decay” on “ANGER” that stick in the mind. And Dying Forever lacks these immediate hooks that give the record a desire to be revisited. While these may come with further time spent with the EP, it is difficult not to yearn for similar moments that were so distinct on previous EPs.
For those looking for further heavy riffages and gnarly breakdowns, Left To Suffer’s latest EP as expected contains that. Overall And Dying Forever feels like a transitional record, which will follow onto the upcoming eight-track EP in the works. Which while And Dying Forever doesn’t further expand the excitement for, it still continues to show there is something to be excited about when it comes to Left To Suffer.
7/10
And Dying Forever will release this Friday, 8th July.