EP REVIEW: Soul Searcher – Griever

May 27, 2016 Mark McConville

Emotion rings true on GRIEVER‘s new EP Soul Searcher. The Bournemouth band, offer yet more volatile music to the metal-core masses. Music that jolts the heart, that shocks the bones, that sends shock-waves through the body like a thunderbolt.

The screaming tension is there too, bubbling under the weight of the stricken guitars. The musicianship is absolutely key also, and the band have come together to showcase their skills and determination, blasting the sound like a double barrelled shotgun. And it’s all in the name. The band do grieve on this release. The depressive lyrics don’t bombard, but they make the mind think and tick, they’re drenched in a sense of melancholia, a fog, a darkness. They’re magical in a way too, written with verve and imagination. If delving in is a way of escaping the bustle and trappings of day to day life, then Soul Searcher might be the harsh but compelling outlet that you’ve craved for so long. It’s not subtle by any means, it doesn’t offer sweetness, but it will give you energy and a kick to that fuzzed up brain.

The EP begins with Soul Searcher. It’s a track that gets the album off on full pelt, with a complex and technical guitar sequence that develops on and wows. The growls add a sense of urgency and are fundamental to the progression of the song. She Is Death begins with an atmospheric and pulsating intro. It begins to dissipate and the screams rip the calmness in half. The guitar wonderment only generates more appeal. Lyrically we’re given depressive and pessimistic notes of rotten love. A Pure Heart delivers as a single would. The vocals are heard more clearly here, and the lyrics are beautifully joined. They describe darkness and its stranglehold.

GRIEVER are a band that showcase a great and honest sound. It might be loud and abrasive, but it’s clearly on point.

Rating: 7/10