The Australian music scene is beginning to stir back into life after a year of harsh lockdowns and COVID putting a dampener on music prospects. Recent releases from Void of Vision, Saviour, Half Me and Thornhill have shown that despite slow start to 2021 for the Aussie scene, they aren’t to be forgotten about in amongst the wave of releases across the year. Newcomers onto the scene, The Last Martyr are also showing strength and depth of talent on the continent. Singles “Hindsight“, “Freaking Out” and “Afterglow” have all put eyes on quartet ahead of their debut EP Purgatory.
The aforementioned “Freaking Out” opens up Purgatory, and despite some gritty instrumentation opening the track it quickly switches into some smooth grooves and catchy riffs to carry the verses. Monica Strut’s vocal variation quickly becomes the standout element of this track. Soaring cleans matched with timbre hash vocals, mixed in with witch screams and varying tempo gives the track its star quality.
Fellow single “Hindsight” follows up Purgatory’s opener, which offers up one of the EP’s catchiest moments. “And in the clarity it stings a lot like hindsight”, leads into a chorus that has the sort of lyricism and delivery that will get it stuck in heads of those who make the excellent choice to give it a listen. Outside of the catchy lyricism, “Hindsight” gives the EP some of its heavier moments with breakdowns that are sure to get a room moving. A slight gear change takes Purgatory into “Out of Time“, as prog rock riffs fill the track from guitarist Rogers, mixed in later with thickly layered instrumentation. Another strong performance from Strut, who delivers rapid bar-like delivery on the bridge and continues to show her vocal talent.
Purgatory quick throws itself back into the deep end with a thumper of a track in the form of “Like a Ghost“. Huge riffs and pounding grooves from the drums give the track a sense of scale. Further, the hint of nu-metal in its mid-track breakdown rival former track “Hindsight” in heaviness. Not wanting to be outdone by her cohorts on this track, Strut pulls out some towering cleans that encapsulate “Like a Ghost“. Finale “Afterglow” sends off the EP with the grand riffs previously seen, before throwing a curveball with a trap-esque second verse. The well-mashed genre blending The Last Martyr have pulled off on Purgatory once again on show. Despite not feeling like a closer, “Afterglow” seals off the EP with a run of five excellent songs.
If Purgatory does have one glaring Achille’s heel, it would be its production. Some of the highs of the EP are slightly let down by everything sounding too flat and mono. The bassier elements have the intended striking quality on the ear, however it leaves the rest of the instrumentals struggling to do the same. The percussion on the drumming needs more punch, and the vocals a more forceful fit. It prevents from some of the heavier and bigger moments on the EP from truly engaging the the listener with its excellent core sound. While I sympathise it has not been the easiest of conditions to put together a record, for The Last Martyr to seek out tighter production is a must on their next material.
Despite my production hang-ups, The Last Martyr clearly have the potential be one of the blue chips prospects in the scene. Monica Strut’s vocal performance here is impressive and unique, which I have no doubt will only continue to improve as the band continues on. As an EP, Purgatory refuses to go through the motions, injecting each track with its own flavour and character. Influences from progressive rock, trap, nu-metal and emo all blend in well with their strongly-executed metalcore sound. As Australia begins to open back up again, The Last Martyr should begin to rightly join the likes of Ocean Grove and Alpha Wolf in ushering the new era of Australian metalcore.
Purgatory is out this Friday 10th December, and can be streamed here.
7.5/10