Artist: Maul
Country: USA
Label: 20 Buck Spin
Formats: Cassette EP
Year: 2023
After having recorded a large amount of demos and (split) EP’s, the success of Maul’s debut album, ‘Seraphic Punishment’, didn’t come quite as a surprise. The bands moody Old School Death Metal definitely appealed to fans of both the more trendy Death Metal variants as well as those who prefer it a little more back-to-basics. Perfectly in line with expectations, the band returns with yet another EP, this time a cassette-only release through their new 20 Buck Spin home.
This 2-tracker is still clocking in at well over 15 minutes, delivering some well-executed Death Metal. Even though the band is still using all the musical elements that gained them their moment of fame in the past few years: the heavy riffs, the moody (or doomy, if you prefer) atmosphere and the almost progressive passages that allow the music to be way more dynamic than most of their peers. Especially the second track has a lot of depth and versatility to offer, going from rather standard Death Metal into a slow and almost (melodious) Doom Metal/Sludge-like dirge towards the end of the track. I can see as why that appeals to many, but I think it might still be hard to label the music as really extraordinary, instead I think it can be just filed under the “Good but not essential” section.
