EP REVIEW: Post-Genesis – Lake Malice
For a duo that met online and formed a musical project over lockdown, LAKE MALICE have had an incendiary past couple of years without even releasing a full-length, or even a debut EP. Over a steady stream of singles and shows, they’ve built a fearsome live reputation and showcased their blend of hyperpop-influenced metalcore to fans across the UK and even Europe. Debut EP Post-Genesis finally arrives this month, and while it’s mostly a collection of already-known material, it shows their blend of styles with aplomb, and makes a strong case for them to be a name on everyone’s lips sooner rather than later.
Blossom is the oldest (released) track on the EP, dating back over two years – it’s actually the first song LAKE MALICE ever released, but here it’s given a new lick of paint courtesy of Carl Bown who handled production duties for Post-Genesis. Opening the EP, it sets the scene with a storm of bouncing metalcore riffing from guitarist Blake Cornwall, while vocalist Alice Guala immediately shows her formidable range with a melodic verse and acerbic, screamed bridge. It’s a tale of fighting to blossom and realise your own potential and individuality, fighting back against abuse and being constantly forced down that sets a high bar for Post-Genesis.
Black Turbine immediately meets that bar; one of their more recent songs but one they’ve been playing live for some time, its pulsing electronics and distorted vocal a tense start for the nu-metal-inspired riffing to come. Its breakdown is thunderous, hurtling along to a riotous conclusion. Where the duo have used electronics to create a sense of unease, Bloodbath dials those elements up with its cautionary tale about abusive relationships. The churning guitar and hyperpop influences – think if CHARLI XCX made trap metalcore and you’re on the right lines – make it catchy, but scathing.
The only unreleased song Power Game is another one familiar to long-term fans as it’s been an unnamed live staple, and it’s clear why. Energetic, bouncy and with a nu-metal groove that’ll get necks moving, while the soaring chorus is backdropped with glitching electronics to bring back that unsettling, almost menacing atmosphere. Mitsuko is actually the only song fans won’t have heard before its release as lead single last month, and as overused as the phrase can be, it really is the heaviest thing they’ve done. Channelling Guala’s skin-flaying scream through a Battle Royale concept about warped familial bonds, it’s a frantic, demolishing two minutes.
Arguably, they could end it there and despite the majority of it being familiar, they would still have crafted a standout debut EP that takes the name they’ve built for themselves with their danceable, furious take on metalcore, but they top it off with the appropriately-named Stop The Party. Thematically as confronting as the rest of Post-Genesis, it addresses social anxiety, particularly coming out of several years of lockdowns and restrictions and the toll it takes on our desire to be around others or even still here. The finality of “I just want it to stop” closes Post-Genesis in stark fashion, but it’s not long before you’ll be hitting play again.
Rating: 8/10
Post-Genesis is set for release on October 27th via SO Recordings.
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