Three more awesome EPs for us to check out this week, and they’re all from the heavier end!
Trivium: Struck Dead
It has been FAR too long since we’ve had new Trivium. It’s been over four years since Court of the Dragon, and my impatience for new music from Heafy and co has been massive. So, while three songs is not nearly enough to quench that hunger, this is still a damn good release! The band can do no wrong at this point, and this is 17-minutes of heavy metalcore awesomeness. Matthew’s screams are as good as ever, and his powerful cleans add some great melody to it all. And from the riffing to the drumming to the lead stuff, it’s all heavy, technical greatness in a way that only Trivium seem to deliver these days. And, while all three tracks are awesome, the epic, seven-minute ‘Six Walls’ is a huge high point, definitely one to make it regularly on a live set, I hope! If you are at all into the band, check this out immediately! 9/10
Currents: All That Follows
More metalcore this week but far more of a modern sound to it than Trivium. This surprise drop from the quintet goes hard, and follows up 2023’s critically acclaimed The Death We Seek perfectly! I remember loving that when it dropped but have for whatever reason not revisited it much. This has made me fall in love with the band all over again, though! This thing is 20 minutes of a heavy metalcore masterclass, all five tracks being as good as the last. The opener and ‘Can’t Turn Back’ are personal highlights, but every song is excellent. They boarder on deathcore perfectly, but have enough melody at times to keep them more rooted in metalcore. I said it before and I’ll say it again, they are the future of heavy music, and their output over the last few years is showing that clearly. The band are insanely talented and honestly put a good few other modern metal bands to shame.9.5/10, goddamn!
Takomaha: American Basements
I have to admit, I don’t get the whole indie-hardcore thing on track. It’s got a similar vibe to it as Turnstile or Soft Play in that I’d love to be in a crowd at a live gig for it, but don’t really get that same rush and energy on track. The band are clearly talented songwriters and players, and if you like this style this is up there with any of the aforementioned bands. It’s not bad, by any stretch. But, it’s sadly not one that I’d revisit much, even if I wouldn’t turn it off if it came on again! But fuck do I wanna throw people around in a pit to this. ‘NO_CLIP’ is probably my favourite track on here. It may grow on me more, but for now it gets a still solid 7/10 from us!