REVIEW: Mastiff - "Bork" (EP)

By: Ernesto Aguilar

Album Type: EP

Date Released:31/08/2017

Label: APF Records

The abrasiveness of the tracks is exceptional. Whatever you call it, this follow up to their 2016 debut "Wrank" is uncannily brutal. Cuts like "Nil By Mouth" and "Everything Equals Death" are chainsaws of sound, ripping into your head in ways you did not expect

"Bork" CD//DD track listing

1. Agony

2. Nil By Mouth

3. Everything Equals Death

4. Threats

5. Tumour

6. Eternal Regret

The Review:

There is so much to appreciate of artful metal and extreme music with a vision. Literally dozens of metal albums in 2017 have come to you with a message, a profound social commentary or literary and/or historical concept at its core.

Kingston Upon Hull, UK's Mastiffare not one of those bands. Mastiff lowers the sonic boom with angst and decibels. And it will give you a new appreciation for the sheer levels the band takes both.

On their new release, "Bork,"the British group, which bills itself as doing an aggressive form of sludge, drills you with a sound so fierce that you just do not hear often, even in metal. You may not be sure where the sludge notion came from because "Bork" is as far from it as you can find. "Bork" is as methodical as any sludge classic in this sense. However, the sophomore recording by Mastifffeels more like an especially nihilistic form of thrash or hardcore. The abrasiveness of the tracks is exceptional. Whatever you call it, this follow up to their 2016 debut "Wrank"is uncannily brutal. With During the opening "Agony" and throughout this record, vocalist Jim Hodges and the band are inconsolably anguished. You hear fury and pain in every note.

Extreme music takes vocalists to limits few of us could even imagine testing our voices. Hodges is truly spectacular, literally killing each song with his inconsolable wail. At every turn, he seems to be giving everything he can to every note, and one has to wonder if there is a breaking point. However, Mastiffcan offer range beyond growling. A song like "Eternal Regret" is a departure that Hodges simply outshines almost any other metal vocalist on. He's the centerpiece of this black orchestra, though the players all make it a happy torture throughout.

Mastiff's sound could seemingly only be this loud with two guitarists, and Phil Johnson and James Andrew Lee fulfill their roles with aplomb. Cuts like "Nil By Mouth" and "Everything Equals Death" are chainsaws of sound, ripping into your head in ways you did not expect. Mastiff has gotten a live reputation for its volume and the heaviness of its music. "Bork"does a great deal to confirm those reviews.

Fortunately enough, Mastiffis expected to hit the road in the near future. A performance of the songs on "Bork" done live is assuredly going to be a flailing and fun experience.

"Bork"is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook