Mastiff: Leave Me The Ashes Of The Earth

A miserable band from a miserable town. At least that's how the band describe themselves. Hailing from the dreary and inhospitable port town of Kingston Upon Hull in England, Mastiff have absorbed all the social decay and darkness of their surrounding as well as the grotesque beauty, as they put it, to construct another sonic pummeling laced with genuine angst and anger, depression and misanthropy. Producing a hateful blitz of brutal, sludgy, hardcore, and volatile grind, Leave Me The Ashes Of The Earth makes its intention known from the outset and those intentions are hostile.

The sludgy oppression begins with “The Hiss� with its doomy drums and bass unfolding and building slowly with more guitar layers being added to the simple rhythm and further plunging you deeper into the murky claustrophobic gloom. When the next song “Fail� begins its much more of a full frontal Grind attack with some of the Hardcore flavor in there as well. This pure aggression and disdain is continued through “Repulse� and “Midnight Creeper� both being unrelenting Grind attacks on the senses. “Beige Sabbath� has more of the hardcore edge again while retaining the overall punishing aesthetic of the album. “Futile� returns to a slower doomy feel initially and is reminiscent of Anaal Nathrakh until exploding again with the Hardcore and Grind mix that is ever-present here. “Endless� comes out swinging with a more traditional Death Metal approach while “Scalped� and “Lung Rust� close out the album, following the pattern laid out already and tackling all of the above with the Doomy, Sludge, Hardcore, Death and Grind that characterizes Leave Me The Ashes Of The Earth. By its very nature the music is loose and abrasive, however these guys tackle it with confident effectiveness and from the distorted, screamed and bellowed vocals to the layered and oppressive guitars and bass to the pummeling drum onslaught all the performances only serve to enhance what Mastiff is trying to do.

To quote the band: “The unrelenting, brutish curmudgeon aura of Mastiff can be deceptive, as bright sparks of nuance and jarring adventurousness lurk behind every riff, rumble, and anguished, painstaking bellow. A great deal of thought powers what may sound like thoughtless music, stitching together a soundtrack suitable for betrayal, depression, self-loathing, and total despair, with winking, devilish glee. The bulldozing din of MASTIFF is akin to the catharsis in setting something aflame just to watch it burn.� Personally I think they have achieved the goals they set out for themselves and the music is precisely as described by them here. Fans of Grind, Death, Hardcore, Doom and Sludge will all find something to love with Leave Me The Ashes Of The Earth.

Tracklisting:
1. The Hiss
2. Fail
3. Repulse
4. Midnight Creeper
5. Beige Sabbath
6. Futile
7. Endless
8. Scalped
9. Lung Rust

Added: September 23rd 2021
Reviewer: Benjamin Dudai
Score:
Related Link: Band Facebook Page
Hits: 1015
Language: english

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