“Where’s that smile when the light leaves your eyes.“
There’s a strain of metalcore in recent years that has the simple intent of being angry or, in blunter terms, just being pissed off. The likes of Terminal Sleep, The Acacia Strain and Starve have indulged in this feral strain. It’s a shift from the melodic and clean nature that dominated the genre in the previous decade. While there was merit to it, the genre lacked the impulse and wrote itself into a corner. Meanwhile, much more exciting things were happening in the sibling genres, such as hardcore and more recently deathcore. Now that metalcore has caught on, we might be in a busy golden era of clenched fists. On their sophomore record, Mugshot take a swing at the new wave of angry metal, and it makes for a blistering record.
As All The Devils Are Here moves through its opening moments, akin to a suppressive spray of 7.62mm rounds, the record shows its intent early. By the time “Shame” kicks in with all its rage, the urge to simply yell out the line “Do you think I chose this life?” fills the veins. Even before the record has moved through its later sections, there is a palpable sense of relief within the swings, an unleashing the bottled up emotions that both Mugshot themselves and the listener at hand.
There is a sense that what Mugshot have put forward here is meant to be slightly uncomfortable; it’s not meant to offer a full cathartic experience that leaves you washed completely clean, as if some part of ourselves can never get there. “I Will Be Here Forever” has a relatable sense of anxiety within it as the rapid riffs and vocal delivery command the track. Across the record and especially on the pivotal “Baptized in Concrete“, Mugshot have the ability to write an intense breakdown, and Godspeed to anyone in the pits during these.
As the title track swings in, Mugshot really do show that they’ve perfected the aforementioned pissed off sound here. It’s one that was perhaps held by the likes of Counterparts with “Choke” and many of the Fit For An Autopsy tracks. As “You’ll rot in the fucking ground” is bellowed, the sheer unfiltered rage at hand is something to behold. There is perhaps a similar nature to that of Orthodox’s recent outing, where All The Devils Here is best in bursts diving or for those who want to full dive into the chaos and anger at hand.
Not letting up on its closer in “Next To Your Idols“, Mugshot show they were intent on making a record that could be the heaviest and angriest for 2025. Whilst there are many metalcore artists now bashing away with this style, it will be difficult not to enjoy Mugshot‘s take on it. It’s not one for the shy, but Mugshot will certainly find a baying crowd here with All The Devils Here.
7/10
All The Devils Here is out 20th June via Pure Noise Records, and can be pre-ordered here.