Sense Offender/They Live We Sleep - Split

Labels: Trepanation Recordings/F H E D Records

Formats: CD/Tape/Digital

Release Date: 04 Dec 2020

Tracklist:

1. Sense Offender - Flatline Connectors

2. Sense Offender - Cancer Eater

3. Sense Offender - Feeding Tubes

4. They Live We Sleep - Vacant Host

5. They Live We Sleep - Suffer Silent

6. They Live We Sleep - False Gods

Here's one I should have reviewed earlier! This split features sludgy, math-like hardcore band Sense Offender and ferocious metallic hardcore band They Live We Sleep (not to be confused with German post-hardcore/screamo band They Sleep We Live, RIP), both of whom are from the UK. It was released in early December by UK label Trepanation Recordings on cd and digitally and by F H E D Records on tape, with three songs coming from each band.

First up is Sense Offender with ‘Flatline Connectors’  and after a sludgy/post-metal intro, the quartet’s mathy hardcore takes hold for what becomes a crazed exhibition of violence and grinding intensity. I wasn’t sure how they could maintain a song of this length, but their creativity and musicianship makes it work. As people reading this may know, there’s been a real rise of mathcore/myspace-grind bands over the last two years or so and while it would be unfair to lump Sense Offender in with that lot, they certainly add their own flair to the sub-genre.

From here on in, Sense Offender get a lot faster and blast through ‘Cancer Eater’ in next to no time at all. Pure UK mathcore goodness with a heavy slant towards the chaotic hardcore of Cursed and Gaza, amongst others. Their final song ‘Feeding Tubes’ is no shrinking violet either and is an amalgamation of everything that makes heavy music so great. The atmosphere, the death/black metal touches, the metallic guitar, pummelling drums and caustic/ripping vocals. It’s all alive and truly kicking!

They Live We Sleep begin in more immediate fashion with their first song ‘Vacant Host’. Their’s is a more hardcore approach, albeit one inspired by bands like Cult Leader and Trap Them. Not too far removed then from Sense Offender, but without the mathiness. It doesn’t harm their sound though, which is certainly more metallic. ’ Suffer Silent’ is; however, off-kilter and utterly ridiculous in places, though They Live We Sleep do control themselves and throw in plenty of murky, dense sludge undertones that help them create a proper wall of noise. The more you listen to this split the more infectious in becomes.  

They end the split with ‘False Gods’, which lives up to the name thanks to countless amounts of rage and general disdain channelled through the music. There’s very subtle melody residing in the depths of this song, which give it a haunting atmosphere at times and as it all crumbles into sonic chaos during the final bars, you’re left reeling in it’s wake.

If you could capture your current frustration and mood in a musical form, it would surely sound something like this split. Both Sense Offender and They Live We Sleep are totally on form and demand return listens, if only for their sheer power. I’m sure more will be coming from both bands but until that time, this will keep you satisfied in even the darkest of ways.

You can stream, download and buy this split on cd via Trepanation Recordings below:-

It's also available on tape from F H E D Records here - https://fhed.bandcamp.com

Sense Offender - https://www.facebook.com/senseoffenderuk

They Live We Sleep - https://www.facebook.com/tlwsuk

Trepanation Recordings - https://www.facebook.com/TrepRec

F H E D Records - https://www.facebook.com/FxHxExD

Deus Vermin - Monument To Decay

Labels: Self-Released/FHED Records

Formats: Digital/Tape

Release Date: 14 June 2018

Tracklist:

1. -

2. Swarms

3. Iniquity

4. Worms

5. Shrine

6. Planetary Illness

Less than a year after their "MMXVII" Demo, Leeds black/death band Deus Vermin have returned with a new EP. It was self-released digitally by the band on limited tape by FHED Records earlier this month. They've recently played Edinburgh, Newcastle and Hull with one of Edinburgh's newest black metal hordes Ulr, in support of their EP and have been getting a lot of praise from many corners of the Interweb.

It’s sweltering here and I’m not sure listening to black/death metal will cool me down much. The opening song on “Monument To Decay”, simply called - is a noisy instrumental, which is as jarring and an unbearable as the heat of the day. It make complete sense though given the intensity that Deus Vermin creates as they blast into Swarms. The metallic edge of the guitars, the barrage of percussive abuse, the thunderous bass and those possessed growls stoke the fire that was started with their demo and helps in burn with even more vigour. The music is surprisingly fast, especially given the bands that these guys previously called home. Iniquity is definitely more on the death metal side of things with passages containing a ridiculous amount of double bass. Even when they slow the tempo and turn up the atmospherics, the music is still a menacing and unwieldy beast (in the best possible way). “Monument To Decay” is more than a step forward for Deus Vermin, as the recording, mixing and mastering of Tom Dring (Vagrant Recordings) demonstrates. 

Worms is a finely crafted signal of intent. It sounds huge and again shows off the band’s death metal chops. There are so many facets and twists to it that only multiple listens will reveal them fully, which is the same for the entire EP. The grinding intensity of penultimate song Shrine is mystifying, as it’s off-kilter structure tears into your synapse and your soul. It’s worth it for the heavy breakdown-like riffs at the 02:50 mark alone. They leave it till the end to unleash the expansive Planetary Illness, which given its title shouldn’t be anything less. The mighty instrumental build-up leads into a raging beast of a song that encompasses the musical skill and creativity of the band in their entirety. The freedom of expression and the passion that seems to be so prevalent amongst Northern band and especially those from Leeds is exhibited here in spades. This EP is a throwing down of the metaphorical gauntlet to those more established, as Deus Vermin has written something that could crush almost all of them. 

You can stream and download "Monument To Decay" directly via Deus Vermin's bandcamp page below:-

Dues Vermin - https://www.facebook.com/DeusVermin/

You can buy tape copies (while stocks last) from FHED Records below:-

https://fhed.bandcamp.com/merch

FHED Records - https://www.facebook.com/FxHxExD/