ALBUM REVIEW: Zwielicht – Mental Cruelty
Sometimes trying to judge the quality of deathcore can be just as hard as it is to write the stuff. There is an endless pool of sonically similar bands grappling for attention in a saturated genre, and MENTAL CRUELTY had at one point found themselves victim to the chokehold such an environment can so easily inflict. However, all that changed back in 2021 when they upped their game drastically with the release of their third LP A Hill To Die Upon, a record which exploded them into clear view amidst a shockwave of attention they are still riding to this day. Suddenly they were a band turning heads, having sparked a growth from deathcore mediocrity into a serious force of blackened prowess.
Two years later they have just released their latest LP Zwielicht, this time the difference being that they have expectations to live up to rather than simply shatter; a whole other ball game. Zwielicht is their fourth full-length and their first since the necessary banishment of vocalist Lucca Schmerler which forced them to navigate a situation that could have easily derailed them and sees them standing at a critical point in their career. Will they sink or will they swim? The answer is unanimously a butterfly stroke in the favour of success, if anything this latest effort feels like further improvement still.
Lukas Nicolai has taken up the mantle on vocal duties, approaching the task with more range than his predecessor which spans from guttural lows right through to a manic shriek, as well as incorporating the kind of demonic, phlegmy snarl best associated with the likes of LORNA SHORE and sounding absolutely disgusting in all the right ways. At times these vocals sound evil, demonic and perfectly fitting with the sonic backdrop.
As a band MENTAL CRUELTY have never been ones to skimp on borrowing influence from black metal, and with this outing they have only increased the dosage. At times the album could be pure symphonic black metal and there is much less of a lean towards traditional deathcore, which only adds to the darkness of the overall tone and further accentuates the impact of the core elements when they do emerge.
The breakdowns are blistering, the song structures sound incredibly well mapped and ultimately it feels they have tightened the screw in every department. This points to a band keen to improve in every way possible, which is almost as important a factor to growth as talent itself; if not more so. Lead single Symphony Of A Dying Star even incorporates clean vocals, another sure-fire sign of a band willing to stick their heads above the parapet and take risks in the name of progress.
However, despite clean vocals, ear worm hooks and melodies making parts of this album a more palatable album than previous releases, they are juxtaposed heavily against the sheer power (seemingly all that these Germans could muster) of pure tyrannical terror. Tracks like Nordlys and Mortal Shells are by far some of the best the band have written and would hold up well in the discographies of pretty much any other band in the genre. MENTAL CRUELTY manifest both power and prowess, a combination that is incredibly hard to execute and they do it amidst a mushroom cloud of blackened, atmospheric chaos.
Even though they may not always be sonically comparable, they seem set to follow in the footsteps of bands like HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH and the aforementioned LORNA SHORE in the sense that they have become more than just heavy. They are writing music that is refined, detailed in its scope and transcends the genre that birthed it. This is the reason they have raised themselves above the shoulders of the crowd and continued to drive themselves forwards.
In beginning to master the art of knowing when to ease back and when to let loose, as well as mixing sounds impeccably, MENTAL CRUELTY have found a real sense of identity at a time where adversity could have stopped them dead in their tracks. Instead they saw their experience as an opportunity for positive change and they aren’t showing many signs of looking back.
Rating: 8/10
Zwielicht is out now via Century Media Records.
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