I was so sceptical, being not much into deathcore, but this album is just great. Imo it's better than both Lorna Shore and Shadow Of Intent's albums last year. The breakdowns aren't super frequent - usually only one or none per song.

I already liked their previous album a lot, but this is even better. Agreed that this slays Lorna Shore and Shadow of Intent easily for me. But I think it's because Mental Cruelty are not fully rooted in Deathcore like the two others. They have a rougher edge, more death and black element, and that speaks to me more. Also the symphonic elements are gorgeous on this one, perfectly in harmony with the instruments, and bringing a great epicness to the music.

Highlight: Symphony of a Dying Star that brings Wintersun more than Deathcore to mind.

Also the cover looks amazing.

This is a brilliant one in my opinion. I agree with the comments indicating that on this record they've outdone SoI's and Lorna Shore's recent efforts. The clear blackened edge is what sells this album for me. The breakdowns, by the way not so frequent, are not annoying, except maybe the one in "Symphony..." (which ironically remains my favorite song on the LP precisely for the reason Liafev mentions). The symphonic elements on top of that shape this album in such a way that I literally feel like it was tailored just for my preference. Also the intro track is great.

It's just a bit hard to tell my friends about the band. They may misinterpret my statement if I tell them how much I adore mental cruelty.

I wouldn't put this above Shadow Of Intent's Elegy, but also I'm not sure they're quite in the same ballpark; this is much closer to Lorna Shore, and I would potentially rank this above Pain Remains. The blackened elements work well, and the reduced reliance on breakdowns is appreciated after how extensively they were used on Pain Remains

Written by Liafev on 23.06.2023 at 11:16
... They have a rougher edge, more death and black element..

Yeah, and also a bit of Grindcore.
I just wish "Zwielicht" was track 1 (the intro) and "Symphony of a dying star" the second song.
It would have made the album a lot different as they're now pretty much at the end.

This is actually really good. I’m usually not into deathcore, like at all really. The guttural piggy growls and breakdowns kinda ruins it for me. But that’s just my opinion.

And so it the story goes for this album. Tbh the songs are really well written and all the breakdowns seems so misplaced. I really really enjoyed the rest, even though i have to get used to the vocals and the occasional breakdowns. Otherwise it’s like I said, a really enjoyable album, and a real positive surprise!



Top 50 Albums of 2023

Written by 24emd on 23.06.2023 at 07:58

I was so sceptical, being not much into deathcore, but this album is just great. Imo it's better than both Lorna Shore and Shadow Of Intent's albums last year. The breakdowns aren't super frequent - usually only one or none per song.

Same here when it comes to deathcore but bloody hell this one is very, very good!

Really enjoy they put some black metal elements could be better without some breakdown not all songs need one.

It's not bad considering I'm not all that much into deathcore, I slightly prefer it to Lorna Shore's release last year, which I thought was ok too. It has a very intriguing structure, the symphonic elements are excellent, and there's some interesting melodies here and there, and not too many breakdowns which I like.

It certainly has it's moments but overall nothing blows me away about it. The vocals in general aren't to my taste, I would have preferred to hear more of his cleaner vocals tbh.

Good album, the I like the symphonic elements better than those in Pain Remains but I liked the vocals a lot more in that one

Great album

Damn it, damn it, damn it!! "Symphony Of A Dying Star" is a fricking masterpiece, literal song of the year contender until that dumbass breakdown comes along and derails the entire song's grandiose momentum. Fortunately it regains some with its goosebump-inducing double key-change ending, but it still hurts to know how much better this could be.

Alright done with the little rant. Probably at 5 listens now? Still very very good for a deathcore album, probably on par with SoI's Melancholy.

Tbh I liked Lorna shore's album more than this one, eventhough this one is immense, well written deathcore album.

Never imagined deathcore could sound so sophisticated. Naive me.