Shawn from the Concrete Wasteland podcast here with Lethbridge Deathgrind kings "The Avulsion" with their 2015 EP "Unholy". This is the second last release with Greg Mayer on bass, and the final release from Brady Everleigh on vocals.
There is a great three layered vocal dynamic to the group which is present throughout the entirety of this EP. The vocals themselves are positioned and layered well, and their spots are well crafted so nothing feels forced. The guitar and bass are layered beautifully to form this absolutely massive and imposing sound that lays the foundation for the vocals to sit nicely on, and then brings everything together.
My biggest gripe on this EP is the programmed drums. They sit a little too far in the mid spectrum, and it becomes a little abrasive. Sometimes the mix is able to correct it and it blends nice, other times not so much. I know for a fact that this was corrected for their most recent release of their single "Worm".
Overall a great release from a stellar band.
1. The Overgrowth: Opens in stellar fashion, lots of groovy riffs and many varieties of harsh vocals. Lovely breakdown towards the end. 9.5/10
2. Preternal: rather chaotic intro, sludgy verse, a straight up violent thrasher, very groovy outro. 9.5/10
3. Trigger Warning: Hilarious sampling of "The Next Episode" by Dr Dre, brutal breakdown for an intro, chaotic verse, rather short, fun fact: originally named rape. 8.5/10
4. Axe to Grind: slow brooding intro right into pure grindy chaos for a verse, the most grind influenced song on the EP, absolutely crushing breakdown toward the end. 9/10
5. Unholy (Featuring DJ Temple of Without Mercy): A slow build up to a more tech death sounding verse, a real expansion from the other songs to date, absolutely beautiful guitar solo from DJ Temple, a work of art. 10/10
6: Once The Sea Has Been Silenced: My personal favorite Avulsion song period, a very catchy chorus, slower but crushing, switches gears around the end mark and becomes very melodic, beautiful outro, perfect closer to this EP. 10/10
Overall: 9.4/10