Album Year: 2013
Genre: Deathcore
Location: Orange County, NY
Facebook: Here
Sometimes an EP or album comes along and while it may not be the most innovative or original thing you may have heard, it is still a great sounding album or EP. The same can be said for Those Who Dwell Within’s newest EP, “Doomsday.” While it may not be that original, you still have to give credit for it being one of the best sounding deathcore EP’s out there.
Short, simple, and to the point. That is what best describes “Doomsday.” This EP is five songs long and only runs for about 13 minutes long. No song is over three minutes long. You also cannot forget the words brutal, crushing, and heavy when describing this EP. This is a straight deathcore EP, but add some very sludge-y guitars. The tone of the guitars remind of Condemned where the down-tuned guitars added a massive sound to the already massive sounding music. It is amazing to me that this band only has one guitar player the sound is so great. I only wonder if this sound is able to translate live. Now with a deathcore release you usually get the three B’s, breakdowns, bass drops, and blast beats but on this EP there is only two of those. This band has a more hardcore influence so they swap the blast beats for more rhythm based drumming and you see that in the variety of two-step and bouncy sections in the EP.
The breakdowns are just massive on this EP especially with that sludge-y guitar sound. Add a huge bass drop to the mix and the breakdowns sound just downright nasty. Now beyond the breakdowns the band substitutes some of the death metal influence for the hardcore influence. This EP is just filled with groove as the rhythms that this band brings to the table is just superb. This band utilizes the Despised Icon technique of two vocalists. There is nothing to complain about in this apartment as both vocalists are on top of their game. The lows are good, the highs are good, and there is even a part in “Seven Deuce” when the lows are amped up in a breakdown and sound Phil Bozeman-ish.
I want to bring up that the intro is the best intro to an album that I have heard in a while and one of the best intros have ever heard. It is in this intro where you find out where the band’s name came from. The intro takes a sample from the movie, “The Exorcism of Emily Rose.” One of the first lines you hear is, “We are the ones who dwell within.” It continues on with the sample and then ends with the infamous line, “And I am Lucifer, the devil in the flesh,” which then goes into an absolutely crushing breakdown as the band then adds another sample from the movie, “The Exorcism.”
Like I said before, this EP is not exactly groundbreaking in any way. I don’t want to say it is nothing you have heard before but it kinda is. I’m sure everyone reading this has heard of deathcore similar to this. This band could use a little more experimentation on this EP. There are hints of it, very subtle hints but you could still hear the few moments where the band wanted to try something completely different. The song “Doomsday” is a perfect example of this where you see some melody and it really fits well. Another thing I mentioned before is that this EP is only 13 minutes long. It starts and then it ends just like that. This EP could have used another song or two just because I wanted to hear more after it was over.
All in all, this is a standout deathcore release. Everyone in the band is on-point with each together and the EP just flows. What this band lacks in originality, they make it up by being the best deathcore band they can be. If you are a fan of deathcore, then this should be in your library ASAP.
Rating: 8/10