Murdock

Dead Lung

Written by: PP on 18/08/2015 23:22:47

"If you're not bleeding or exhausted, what's the point?" is the band motto of Ireland based Murdock. Me being a sucker for such drawn out marketing jabs, my interest was immediately piqued by a promise of a cacophonic, discordant mess of a sound that's best comparable to the likes of The Chariot and The Dillinger Escape Plan.

Stop/start rhythms, nonsensical breakdowns, ferocious screaming and growling mixed with horror chords and southern style grooves in the vein of Every Time I Die? That's pretty much their new album "Dead Lung" in a nutshell. It's one of those freight-train type of albums that mows down its listener mercilessly with a mathcore based, chaotic approach to the -core genres in general, resulting in an extremely varied and spastic soundscape overall. Yet the band manage to pack decently catchy screamed melodies in between, such as the quiet/loud contrast of "I Am Not Continent", or groovy, rowdy riffs such as those on display throughout "What You Don't Like".

While the majority of the release is focused on technical delivery of cacophony and uncompromising noise in unpredictable patterns, Murdock do wisely to highlight such sections for the listener. Lead single "Erk", for instance, starts with destructive mathcore riffage, but quickly translates into Cancer Bats style rowdy hardcore melody in between. There are even a few jazzy, intricate sections in between that give the song a progressive vibe. This technicality-meets-songwriting is what makes "Dead Lung" such an intriguing listen. It's devastating and consuming, but it's also rewarding because of the efforts made by the band to keep things interesting by adding in just enough melody to catch your attention.

Still, while "Dead Lung" is a decent release, it's noticeably far from the best releases in this genre, despite the high-profile praise it has received in other media since its release. The insanity on record is guaranteed to be exhilarating live, but there are too few standout tracks on "Dead Lung" to make it a game-changer.

Download: Narrowcasting, The Signal In the Noise, What You Don't Like
For the fans of: The Chariot, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Every Time I Die
Listen: Facebook

Release date 13.04.2015
Basick Records

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