ALBUM REVIEW: There is No God Where I Am – Cruelty

If there was one thing guaranteed to happen over the lockdown period, it was a boom in artistic output thanks to the extra downtime everyone had. Hardcore saw albums spew forth from every level of the genre, but most notably have been the albums from the likes of CHUBBY AND THE GANG and their intense focus on sounds of yesteryear. The quality of their sound has made them one of the more hotly tipped bands the genre has housed in a while, and now it seems CRUELTY are set to follow the same path. With a sound rooted firmly in the late 90’s and early 2000’s metalcore and metallic hardcore racket, There Is No God Where I Am has pretty quickly established this feral band as one of the most exciting prospects in recent years. 

If you can remember the hype surrounding EMPLOYED TO SERVE saw when they started to gather traction then you should be able to visualise where CRUELTY currently sits. With backing from Church Road Records and a solid underground following, CRUELTY waste little time in injecting their audience into their chaotic world. An Introduction screams the album into existence before the CONVERGE worship fully kicks in. A Lie That Makes Life Bearable and Spirit World are both whirling maelstroms and the album does little to slow the pace throughout its run time. 

It’s clear the band are drawing from a broader range of inspirations than their previous 2019 EP eluded to. There is a large portion of post-hardcore influence and even a slice of industrial injected into the transitions between songs. The underlying theme of the influences is that they sit firmly away from the overproduced, crystal clear dynamic that recent popular hardcore has embraced over the years. Whilst this certainly sets the band apart, There is No God Where I Am does lack the powerful singles that many other hardcore bands can boast. This is an album that is best experienced front to back, in its entirety, and that may hinder it in the eyes of the more fickle fan just looking for a quick beatdown. 

There is far more at play at any moment in There Is No God… than most hardcore and metalcore releases this year. The brooding atmosphere that drips from every note in tracks like Cut helps elevate the album to new creative heights, and when the band need to kick your teeth in they employ brutal tactics like those displayed on To The Ground and Dead Culture. Few bands are willing to take the often too easily pigeon holed tropes of the genre and play with them like CRUELTY do throughout this record and it certainly helps highlight them as standouts among the growing roster of homegrown talent. 

The diverse pool of influences CRUELTY pull from really helps form the basis for what is comfortably one of the better releases of the year from the hyperactive alternative underground. With the growing popularity of nostalgic sounds, There Is No God Where I Am does a mighty fine job of emulating everything from CONVERGE to MINOR THREAT in their boundless energy and chaotic anger. Whilst this album might put off some of the less patient fans of the sound, for those who can stick with this, this album will take you down dark alleyways and leave you bleeding in a heap. Once this band can consolidate with live shows, then we should see the real hype start to build.

Rating: 8/10

There is No God Where I Am is out now via Church Road Records.

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