“Why am I the one that you’ve chosen?”
Since 2020, Left To Suffer have done pretty well off the resurgence of deathcore. Along with the likes of Lorna Shore and To the Grave, they are now one of the most popular bands of that pack globally. With the release of yearly EPs since 2020, last year’s effort in the form of And In Dying Forever did see the start of a need for Left To Suffer to evolve their sound to prevent it getting stale. Further, with a newly established, exciting brand of deathcore in town with the likes of PSYCHO-FRAME and Tracheotomy, the established sound is now seeing its principles challenged. Yet, this much needed evolution in sound seems more distant than ever for Left To Suffer.
As the opener and title track hits a bouncy rhythm with a nice two-step beat, the familiar territory of Left To Suffer‘s sound enters. The high octane vocals and the pummeling riffs with whirling synths lead into the expected breakdown towards the track’s final moments; as the panic chords strike, the drums here simply are not furious enough, resulting in a slightly lackluster impact. Sticking to a somewhat “metalcore” structure on “Feral” does also perpetuate the lack of impact here, on a track which lacks any sort of surprise or daring songwriting.
Early into Feral the two features come into play, with the first coming from TikTok musician, Kim Dracula. “Artificial Anatomy” opens with gnarly vocals that have some real intent to them, which go a long way to giving Feral more life. Dracula‘s heavily rap-influenced flow with some nu-metal scatting enter the fray, making for a fairly surprising and impressive feature, especially for those unfamiliar with the artist. “Primitive Urge” brings in orchestral elements as unneeded grace to deathcore, as shown recently by the likes of Lorna Shore. Both lead vocalist Taylor Barber, alongside featured vocalist Joe Badolato (Fit For An Autopspy) work together here to give a sense of weight into the track, but unfortunately fail to land any meaningful blow to take the listener aback.
There is a certain sense that as Feral goes through its midpoint with “Break the Fever“, “Recluse“, “Illusion of Sleep” that this is once again paint-by-numbers Left To Suffer. It kicks back into gear with “Disappoint Me” where Barber shows off some furious vocals that come with djenty guitars and a breakdown which is the strongest on the record. Sadly, however, the issue with the drums lacking any kick persists. The nature of how they’re either mixed or written feels reserved, preventing the moments which are so clearly written to invoke a response from having any lasting impact. Closer “Consistent Suffering” switches between metalcore choruses, trap style verses and blast beats all within about a 30 second period. The latter two would seemingly work best together, but it ultimately leaves for a track that feels muddled and haphazard.
Feral, while offering up some moments of interest here and there, attempts to hit on receptors that have been worn out over the last few years, and it ends up feeling dated as a result. Despite its moments of electrifying heaviness, there is a noted lack of energy palpable enough to establish the baseline rule of deathcore: evoke anger and passion enough to make one start swinging in their own bedroom. Barber‘s vocal chops are undeniable, but on this occasion they are not enough to carry the EP. Feral comes across as scatterbrained in its direction track-to-track, with orchestral elements here, and trap there. As a record, this only further swings the pendulum in the direction of those who believe deathcore should return to its grindy old-school roots.
4/10
Feral is out this Friday, May 12th, via ONErpm.