“Disfigured by the stale embrace of saints.”
Since their formation, metalcore supergroup END have always thrived on one thing: chaos. Comprised of members of Counterparts, Fit For An Autopsy, The Dillinger Escape Plan and more, it should come as no surprise these guys sound quite as oppressive as they do. And yet, with each and every release, they continue to push the boundaries of just how gross their sound can get. This is no more apparent than on their brand split, Gather & Mourn, alongside Utah sludgebringers Cult Leader, a band that I was unfortunately unfamiliar with up until this point.
Needless to say, they’ve made a strong impression. Both halves of this EP, in fact, represent some of the most crushing metal I’ve heard all year, all drenched in this murky mire of an atmosphere that makes each and every moment feel just as raw and disgusting as the last. The EP opens with END’s “Eden Will Drown”, a punishing three-minute powerhouse made up of a truly manic vocal performance from Brendan Murphy, alongside the pummeling percussion of Billy Rymer. The way “Eden Will Drown” weaves in and out of spacious doom chording and frenetic, angular chugs and riffs is a true metalcore masterclass. Once the track’s final breakdown hits, the chaotic push-and-pull proves to be all-entrancing romp of fury that will send your senses into a frenzy.
What follows with END’s second and final offering on Gather & Mourn is “The Host Will Soon Decay”. Opening with an equal measure of floating atmospherics and ferocious blasts of aggression, the track descends through its four-minute runtime into continual chaos, proving to only get sludgier and sludgier as the track progresses. Living up to what was stated of their sound in the introduction, this soundscape of this song can only be described as gross.
Cult Leader, clearly intent on wasting no time establishing their presence, open with “Ataraxis”, a sub-two-minute foray into doomy, hardcore punk-twinged violence. Anthony Lucero’s hyper-aggressive vocal delivery works in perfect synergy with the mathcore-esque drumming of Casey Hansen and hype-inducing guitar work of Mike Mason, as the group glide between pacey hardcore aesthetics to downtempo, sludgy brutality in the track’s incredibly dense sonic make-up.
Gather & Mourn closes out with the EP’s lengthiest and most relatively ‘reserved’ track, “Long Shadows”. Feature more heightened melodics in the instrumental, the moody atmosphere of “Long Shadows” elevates the sparse moments of chaos by providing a greater sense of dynamic. The track’s blackgaze-esque bridge before its subdued, eerie ending passage proves to be one of the EP’s most electrifying moments too, providing a final glimpse of the EP’s core sound of verb-drenched disarray before it passes all too quickly.
All in all, Gather & Mourn is a violent and chaotic display of some of the most truly oppressive metalcore I’ve heard all year. While these songs seem designed to their core for a live experience, being conducive to some of the most violent pits I can possibly fathom, the EP’s run in a studio setting proves to be energetic and engaging enough to turn any and all rooms its played in into an impromptu fight club.
9/10
Gather & Mourn will be available tomorrow, September 9th via Closed Casket Activities, and you can pre-order the EP here.