Should you encounter any of Dwelled’s online promotional materials before listening to this EP, you’ll find them described using words like “unforgiving” and “blistering”. That’s really not far from the truth. ‘Suffering Heritage’s six tracks attack with a genuine force, where a contemporary metalcore sound is peppered with moments of death tinged brutality. With everything clocking in at under four minutes – under three in many cases – the band haven’t left much room for flowery experimentation, or much else in the way of branching out.
This becomes clear right from the intro of ‘Spineless’, a two minute slab of anger that opens with a grinding riff that takes in elements of metalcore and melodic death metal and delivers it at a sludgy tempo. Even when breaking into something more “traditional” in metalcore terms, the band’s sound is absolutely massive. The drum triggers give a speed driven guitar riff a genuine edge during the fastest moments; the occasional mid tempo breakdowns draw from a more traditional hardcore sphere, and eventually, a brutal doom riff tops everything with a devastating heaviness. Linking these very different elements, Matt Wall’s vocals never drop below a full roar, which gives the short track and extra sense of force. If you can make it through that, then ‘Ripped Apart’ will bring even more entertainment via a blend of angular hardcore riffs delivered from insanely downtuned guitars (courtesy of Louis Jefferies and Sam Hunter) and a whole world of intense vocals where Max uses the musical backdrop to blend classic hardcore sounds with some full scale death metal growls. The light relief from this track comes from a brief interlude where the rising tension and almost gut-wrenching vocal comes with an obvious nod to early KoЯn, which should give some indication of how intense it is. After a couple of minutes’ worth of uncompromising hardcore, the latter part of the track veers towards a full on death influenced sound, with the deep, grinding elements becoming even heavier, and Matt Thompstone’s drums adopting a speed driven, pneumatic sound. Showing influence from the death metal pioneers Death and Suffocation, and the hardcore elements of bands like Bolt Thrower, in terms of style, his playing is amazing, but the sheer anger of this number is unlikely to appeal to the more casual listener.
Opening with a filtered sound and a repetitious snare drum beat, ‘Echoes’ makes a small attempt at breaking in the listener before everything explodes in an absolute fury, but even this tiny moment of relative quiet feels intense. When the sound branches out properly, the track does not disappoint. Expanding a little on previous themes, the hardcore elements are tighter, with the twin guitars adopting a full grind – at least during the moments when they’re audible behind the dominant drum part – and Wall sounds even more comfortable delivering truly intense vocals. Once the death metal vocals subside – albeit briefly – you’ll find a couple of perfect hardcore breakdowns propping up this particular number: the first, driven by a heavy, mechanical beat, and the second exploring a slower, heavier sound, but both show off Dwelled’s brutal sound with an amazing level of skill and tightness.
‘Otherside’ brings in even more of an old school hardcore tone within some of the guitar work, with a shrill lead piercing through the wall of pneumatics, before a death infused interlude shows off a slow, grinding riff or six. If you’ve made it this far into the EP, these musical traits will no longer surprise, but they’ll still entertain, since they more than show these amazing musicians at the top of their game. You will find a different approach to vocals, however, since during the coda, the death metal growl is offset by an unsettling bark, and lyrics are spat, almost goblin-like, in a way that hints at a love of mid 90s nu metal. It’s just a flourish, though, and by the time ‘Suffer’ hits its stride, the band assault their audience with another round of brilliantly constructed hardcore. Rhythmically, it fits with the bulk of the material, but by introducing more of a metal tone to some of the guitar work and adding pinch of influence from Lamb of God to a couple of the riffs, it’s different enough to ensure Dwelled aren’t merely stuck in a repetitious loop of noise.
In closing, ‘Rivers of Regret’ kicks off with a grindcore blast, before sliding effortlessly into a passage of hardcore influenced metal, a brief round of pneumatic drums, then finally a riff or three calling back to early Fear Factory. It’s a melting pot of anger where the band appear to throw every one of their influences into a little under three minutes, but in terms of a great showcase, it’s a fantastic piece. The twin guitars attack with a world of sharp edges; the hardcore vocal is more than assured, and those drums present Matt as a machine like rhythmic beast who sounds as if he’ll never be stopped. Relatively speaking, the shifts between styles has allowed for a little more melody too, without a concession to anything commercial creeping in. If you’ve already found an early love for Dwelled’s brand of noise, then this track is likely to become a firm favourite in record time.
Unlike other metalcore acts breaking through at the time of this release – HollowKin, Paradis et al – Dwelled don’t have much time for any melodic elements. ‘Suffering Heritage’ is brutal: hard, fast, unrelenting metal for the more committed extreme music fan. Within the six tracks, ‘Ripped Apart’ and ‘Rivers of Regret’ are very much standouts for showcasing Dwelled’s no nonsense sound, but there’s nothing here that appears weak in any way. This is an EP that plays very much to a niche crowd, but those who like it will absolutely love it.
November/December 2024