EP REVIEW: Nothing Ever Happens – Sunmancer

Melodeath riffs, big melodic choruses and even bigger breakdowns – SUNMANCER know what they’re doing on their debut EP Nothing Ever Happens. Provided this isn’t the first time you’ve ever stepped foot in the world of metalcore you’ve probably heard plenty of records like this before, but formulas exist for a reason and the fact that this Atlanta five-piece don’t do much to mess with that of the genre they’ve made their home in works mostly to their advantage here.

Across six tracks and 20 minutes, SUNMANCER deliver metalcore as it should be, their metal and hardcore influences working in tandem to evoke KILLSWITCH ENGAGE or early TRIVIUM or AUGUST BURNS RED or MISERY SIGNALS or indeed any other band that did that sort of thing so wonderfully a couple of decades ago now. There isn’t much mileage in choosing between individual tracks because they’re all good, and the production by Patrick Snyder hits the mark with no significant revisions to the way this sort of music is just meant to sound at this point.

Which doesn’t leave us with an awful lot to say really; opener Liminal Rift sets out the band’s stall with a particularly stonking breakdown in amongst all the other expected elements, lead and debut single Descender shows off some impressive technicality not least in the blast beats of drummer Ramon Rellum, while it’s probably between fourth and sixth tracks Revolver and Fatalist for which houses the record’s most anthemic chorus. In both of these and indeed any other track where vocalist Justin Mazlik goes for something cleaner he often resembles a young Matt Heafy, which is certainly not a bad thing, while in verses and other parts he tends to stick to a real desperate rasp which serves the music just fine even if it is a bit metalcore 101.

It’s not much but realistically this should be more than enough for you to know if you’re going to enjoy Nothing Ever Happens. If you really are completely lost then perhaps start with an early record from any of the bands mentioned above and if you like that then you’ll be happy enough with this too. Reinvention can definitely be a good thing but sometimes you just want to hear something familiar done to a high standard and if that is the case for you then you should have no significant complaints here.

Rating: 7/10

Nothing Ever Happens is set for release on November 24th via self-release.

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