Mastiff are better than your band.

Mastiff

BORK

Seemingly bursting out of nowhere Mastiff have been making a huge name for themselves on the live music circuit with their dark brand of metal and intimidating live performances. By their own admission this hate sludge quintet from hull are a miserable band from a miserable town. Not here to make friends and definitely not here to make party music these lads have set out to carve their own black festering mark on the UK metal scene. Their first recorded effort Wrank acted as a kind of mission plan, giving listeners just a taste of the hostility yet to come. Mastiffs upcoming EP, BORK, makes good on all of these threats. Everything is turned up to 11... its nastier, more aggressive and more importantly heavier. Filled with downtuned heavy riffing and guitar tones so thick they will crack your teeth, BORK doesn't shy away from mixing up the tempos. Mastiff are able to switch from a methodical grinding trudge to faster paced hardcore beats at a moments notice all kept together by the tight drumming throughout the EP. This is one the things that is great about mastiff, they seem to have remembered the Hardcore punk roots of sludge bands like Eyehategod, Buzzoven and graveyard rodeo that many modern sludge bands seem to  have forgotten. Tracks like Nil By Mouth and Threats show their chops as a hardcore band just as much as a sludge band. All this is coupled with the confrontational, nihilistic lyrics. Jim's vocals throughout the EP sound great with his ability to switch between aggressive barks, piercing shrieks and gut wrenching low growls that at times almost sound inhuman. Blazing through the 6 tracks on the EP, BORK barely gives the listener time to breath, creating a dark and claustrophobic atmosphere throughout and eventually reaching a crescendo when yawning feedback breaks into the final track Eternal Regret. An excellent way to close out the EP, this track almost feels like a ballad compared to the rest of the album and with heavy shades of introspection and self loathing as the title suggests. Bork is one of the heaviest things to be released this year and with how heavy the EP sounds its almost unbelievable that the entire thing was recorded in two days! For fans of real sludge metal BORK is a really exciting EP. This isn't another wish washy affair from a band that don't know whether they want to be stoner, sludge or doom whilst somehow missing the point of all three. Mastiff know exactly what they want and what they want is to produce real nihilistic sludge metal, which in my opinion is something the UK music scene needs more of. There is no bullshit, there is no pretension... just pure fucking hatred. 

FFO: Eyehategod, Buzzoven, Seven Sisters Of Sleep, Methdrinker, Noothgrush, Fistula

9/10

BORK will be released on the 31st of august available in physical and digital formats through APF records.

Melancholic echoes in the distance

Jon Vernon

Every Living Creature Dies Alone

No one can accuse Jon Vernon of being lazy. Drumming in a successful metalcore band whilst also providing his talents in a two piece grind band and an amp worshiping post black metal band has shown us not only his versatility as a drummer but also his amazing work ethic. Amazingly along with all of this he has found time to be producing a solo music as well! Every Living Creature Dies Alone, now Jon's second solo effort exploring ambient and electronic ideas, is an EP that feels like it has two distinct halves. The opening tracks Emissary and Glassworks make up the first cohesive half of this EP pairing ambient noises with melodic strings, pianos and building to a thickly layered burst of post rock at the end of the first track with searing guitars. Glassworks carries over the motifs of the first track but pairing the pianos with an off kilter drum beat making for a sound that is strangely beautiful and the highlight of the EP. The next track, Song Of The Lord, acts as an interlude with its samples of religious ramblings and bell chimes eventually making way for the closing track. White Coffin is an epic fourteen minute track that takes further exploration into moody ambient vibes but this time with a distinctly eastern flavour with addiction of oriental strings. Without warning the EP closes with a jarring burst of harsh noise that jolts the listener out of their melancholic malaise in a most unceremonious and uncomfortable way and brought a wry smile to my face. Melancholic is probably the best way to describe Every Living Creature Dies alone. It's a moody and dramatic exploration into down-tempo and ambient music. Its an EP that is incredibly sure of itself and definitely in a good way. He manages to blend electronic and live instruments near seamlessly and It feels like an incredibly accomplished piece of music with complete and articulate musical ideas. Every Living Creature Dies Alone is an incredibly exciting EP and personally I can't wait to see where Jon takes this solo project.   

FFO: Aphex Twin, The Orb, Lustmord, The Body, Godspeed You! Black Emperor 

8/10   

Listen to Every Living Creature Dies Alone for yourself now. Available to stream and download through Jon's bandcamp.

The spirit of Motorhead lives on!!!

Blind Haze

The Bastard EP

After high kicking their way onto the scene a few years ago Blind Haze have made steady waves in the UK music scene with their high octane take on hard rock and energetic live shows. After a previous single and EP release and with a new guitarist in tow this Leeds trio now have their third offering with The Bastard EP. Right off the bat as the EP kicks of with the opening track Never Getting Out Alive the first noticable thing that really sets this apart from previous Blind Haze releases is the production quality. This cleaner production is something Blind Haze really benefits from. Conan's graveled vocals and the guitars sound much thicker and not a moment of the drums are lost. The pace of the EP is relentless as we are hammered with amphetamine fueled riffs and the double kick of the bass drum. The tempo only ever slows down to a jogging pace on the tracks Crawling Through Hellfire and You Can't Have It. Blind Haze predominately deliver Motorhead worshiping hard rock and this EP is no exception. Graveling vocals, power chord bass, break neck speeds and a live fast die young attitude can all be found on The Bastard EP. Even the title of the EP feels like a nod to Motorhead. But in my opinion if you are going to pay homage to any band it might as well be the greatest band in the world! having said all this Blind Haze still manage to bring something of their own flavour to this sound. John's slick and tight guitar solos that are scattered throughout the EP are distinctly his own and occasional moments of groove add slight stoner tinge to the sound whilst the drums also carry Jason's signature with his equally slick drum fills and unrelenting double bass peddle. This adds something of a modern edge to this extremely classic sound. All in all This EP is much like Blind Haze's live show... It's tonnes of fun, packed full of energy and well worth your time. So grow out your side burns, bust out the Jack Daniels and put on The Bastard EP!

FFO: Motorhead, Speedwolf, Midnight

7/10

listen to The Bastard EP for yourself now, available in CD and Digital formats through APF Records