I've mentioned before that deathcore is a genre that, more often than not, I have trouble with finding albums that I enjoy. It's not something I actively seek out, so I was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying a three-way split EP way more than I thought I would. Three big names in the old and modern deathcore scene have brought to us the 6-track sequel to The Depression Sessions, of which the 3 original songs impressed me.
Hellions came first, from the beastly modern deathcore legends Fit For An Autopsy, returning for a second round after The Depression Sessions. It's a solid deathcore banger with all the delights of their usual sound, Tasteful riffs, great vocals and a beatdown-esque breakdown. I'll be honest, it's my least favourite of the three, but it is still very commendable as a high-quality cut from the modern deathcore scene. I definitely won't complain if I'm looking for a good headbang and this song comes on.
Until There Is No Longer was the one that caught my attention, honestly. Despite a majority of the song being on the same barely memorable wavelength as Hellions, there was something so feral about the final breakdown that kept me coming back to it, it reminded me of Meshuggah's Bleed a bit. There was also the really groovy bridge with it's tasteful riffage that was another memorable moment. For my first introduction to classic deathcore legends Thy Art Is Murder, it's not bad, not bad indeed.
Waste Of Myself was the last original to release, alongside the rest of the EP. Malevolence was a name I didn't really know on account of their relative recency, but they impressed me quite a bit. I found their strength to be their surprising pop sensibilities in this deathcore sound, awarding them with a catchiness the other two songs simply can't compare to. The chorus was amazing, I love the melody and I especially love the vocal tone, even more so in the last chorus when he pulls that extra lowest note. Beyond that, the verses are pretty great too and the riffs are pretty sweet, the only thing they were missing was a breakdown, but with a song like this, I can't really complain.
It feels unusual to be talking about a split deathcore EP, mostly because I rarely find music from this corner of deathcore to be interesting enough for me, but this EP was honestly better than I expected. Finding myself coming back to it more than I thought I would was enough reason for me to write this, and the three-way split was also a really interesting format, but I don't have anything to say about the covers. Overall, a pretty enjoyable heavy time.
Rating: 3/5