EP REVIEW: Dear God – Dead Man’s Chest

At a mere two tracks long, it’s difficult to retrieve any take away’s of grandeur from DEAD MAN’S CHEST‘s new double punched EP Dear God, but then – you get the idea that this was the plan all along. And if this was meant to be a quick fire statement of intent from the Londoners: consider this mission accomplished.

It’s refreshing that 14 years into their career, the quintet are able to keep things fresh on the release front. As cemented in stone as their sound, and overall presentation may be, Dear God is an interesting, and unusual concept whichever way you try to pick it apart. From its outlandish artwork to its purpose filled rhetoric: you don’t come across releases of this nature often.

The title, and opening track’s haunting spoken word beginnings soon gives way to the level of caution-less onslaught that seems to have become second nature for the hardcore crew by now. But even so, the bands tearing rhythm section rarely sounds out of place, and there’s a forceful nature to Dear God‘s structure that makes DEAD MAN’S CHEST blade cut as sharp as ever.

United States Of Me refuses to deviate from the pattern too, its slightly more metallic edge adds depth though, as does its heroically slick guitar lines which lay the groundwork for some straight up furious changes of pace. It begins to be a question of: what more could you ask for here? This is DEAD MAN’S CHEST delivering in their classic, frowning fashion.

While there’s little to take away from Dear God other than it’s a two track gut punch, it’s still a climactic ride. Less than 10 minutes of unapologetic, unrelenting hardcore that seeks your throat throughout – take this band’s experience and add it to their desire to stay relevant, and this was never going to fail, regardless of its form.

Rating: 7/10

Dear God is out now via Upstate Records.

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