EP REVIEW: Dusk of Anguish – Distant

There’s been a decent crop of deathcore recently that has actually felt like it’s pushing the genre forward in the right direction. From the stunningly heavy and atmospheric work of HUMANITY’S LAST BREATH and BLACK TONGUE to the epic progressive work of MENTAL CRUELTY and their latest singles. Indeed even bands like BEYOND EXTINCTION are proving that the youngens still want this genre to survive way beyond anything anyone probably thought possible with this sound. DISTANT have been a band consistently keeping up with the pack when it comes to popularity, and their previous EP Dawn of Corruption certainly housed their best work following on from what felt like a particularly one note debut full-length. Now back with a sequel to that EP titled Dusk of Anguish, and unfortunately it comes across like DISTANT seem content to just run at the same pace as before. 

The Offering provides an interesting prelude to the proceedings at least. The moody intro gives way to the band’s trademark heaviness, and they have never feared wielding this brutality with extreme prejudice. Their mid tempo stomp hits harder than just about anyone and it still stands out as the best thing about DISTANT. If you need predictably heavy music to simply imagine mudstomping your enemies too, then you really needn’t look anywhere else. The issue with this of course comes with the pacing of their music, with the sluggish tempo often becoming more detrimental than beneficial. 

Of course this isn’t to say that there aren’t highlights here. The Lochie Keogh feature is a perfect addition to the band’s noise, and the crazy, swirling sound effects that lay in the background add an eldritch terror to everything and it sounds awesome. The ending moments of The Eternal Lament also stand as some of the heaviest moments of music released so far this year. However, when compared to bands like BOUND BY FEAR and the progress they made with their sound recently, DISTANT begin to feel one step behind everything. 

There is little here that probably won’t appeal to a tried and true deathcore fan, and the refinements DISTANT have made on their guitar tone and elements of their song-writing is apparent. The first half of this record houses the better moments before tracks like Graveborn just tick the boxes as it were.

When bands like BRAND OF SACRIFICE are putting out albums like they have done this year it becomes even more apparent how boring a record this really is, because the excitement this genre breeds still very much exists. There are still buckets of potential here, and there are enough slithers of excellence dotted throughout these six tracks, but DISTANT just need to find a more effective way to harness their raw, hulking strength. 

Rating: 6/10

Dusk of Anguish is out now via Unique Leader Records. 

Like DISTANT on Facebook.