New school old school death metal. Yes sir/madam this is the kinda stuff that has put the ocean under my motion in recent years. Whether it be Sanguissuggabog or 200 Stab Wounds I am down with the dirty riffs and hardcore sensibility. 20 Buck Spin always bring the goods too so I was pretty excited when Maul thrust themselves into my ragged inbox.

I am not sure what I was expecting. I checked the FFO and I got a pretty comprehensive of the new kids on the Death Metal block. I prepared my ears for brutality with a smattering of slam and beatdowns and pulled up my least comfy chair.

In many ways that is what is on offer here but there after a few listens there is a hell of a lot more too. Garret Alvarado’s vocals are simply superb. He is one of the more versatile extreme metal singers I have heard in a while. Whilst his voice is often multi tracked there is no getting away from his talent. Rasped fry screams? Yup he has um. Gutturals that hark back to peak era Chris Barnes? Yup they are in the blood n bile soaked bag too. Porcine squeals? Yeah baby – Porky is getting it awnn here. He writes the lyrics so every utterance is filled with rage and venom and even the menacing spoken word sections in Unbridled Delusions are played straight and are pretty unsettling in the headphones. The aforementioned track gave me “Mandatory Suicide” vibes – both due to the spoken word similarity but also the main riiffs and that immediately increased my enjoyment of this album. South of Heaven and that particular track hold a special place for me so good on ya Maul – whether it be deliberate or not.

The changes of pace throughout the album was a pleasant surprise and not what I expected. The opening title track (more about its name in a mo) goes from mid paced groovy death metal to slowed down dirtiness and a mosh part with more breeeee than a French cheesemongers. It all ends with a bass led section that reminds me of Rob Trojillo’s four string tone. Great stuff.

The title of the album bugged me at first.  “In the Jaws of Bereavement”. My first thought was that grief does not have teeth. I immediately thought of bereavement being dark and soft- suffocating and choking – My Dying Bride or Numonorean or even Primitive Man. Crushing. Not snapping jaws. I then thought about the bereavement I have been through in recent years. The loss of my mum, of two friends and how that grief has not always been the romantic gothic weeping and wailing. It is so often the stabbing of remembrance, the barbs of memories and yes the gnashing of teeth that cut ties.

This album may indeed cover those emotions in the lyrics. I have not delved to deeply whilst headbanging and shouting along to “Stuck, Stomped and Smeared” (what a title!) and “With Each Voracious Lick”.

What I did do was let my mind wander into its own dark places and bathe in the triple guitar attack on offer here and ferocious rhythm section. The album offers the kind of catharsis that extreme music often does. The emotion wrought from the singer’s larynx channelled some sorrow, rage and frustration for me whilst the intricate guitar leads gave me cause to grin and fire off some air licks of my own.

There is plenty of old school dirtiness here alongside some more current slam and core influences as well as some doom death accents as well. It patchworks together well and each of the 10 tracks are as strong as those that surround them. I find it hard to fault any of the musicians but as a vocalist myself, Garret’s vocals are the white highlights on this rather wonderful musical tattoo.  The band have allowed him to utilise several styles – often within the same song – to help paint the picture that they are creating through the music.

I can see myself returning to this album again and again. There appears to be more to uncover on every listen. Go check it out and see what you think.

(8.5/10 Matt Mason)  

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