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MAUL
In The Jaws Of Bereavement

20 Buck Spin (2024)
Rating: 4.5/10

I’m not sure if I’m imagining things but the second, highly anticipated full-length Maul opus is like a mix of dogshit deathcore and latter day Six Feet Under. Since the beginning of their career these Fargo, North Dakota-based deathheads have always had the potential to rise above the derivative details of the genre, but with In The Jaws Of Bereavement they’ve massively regressed, disappearing up their own arse in a cloud of generic post-death metal gunk. Yes, the riffs remain pretty destructive, but this is just bland metallic hardcore from the onset whereby each uninspiring song shouts like a moody teenager who has just lost a match on console game EA Sports FC 24.

I don’t understand what prompted Maul to spew out such mediocre dullness, particularly vocalist Garrett Alvarado who takes it upon himself to mimic Chris Barnes at his worse. Tracks such as ‘Blood Quantum’ and ‘Stuck Stomped And Smeared’ are cheese-ridden escapades; the latter being as dull as dishwater, while the former scrapes the Six Feet Under barrel yet again. I’m confused why Anthony Lamb, Alex Nikolas and newest axe grinder Josh Sanborn are so intent on numbing our minds with so many segments, but I expected a lot more from three guitarists.

If I were forced to pick a favourite track then finale ‘Drawn To Drowning’ offers something closer to the old Maul sound. There is also something foreboding about ‘An Alluring Deceit’, but that’s about it because elsewhere the band grinds out outdated screamo death metal bereft of imagination.

In The Jaws Of Tepidness would be a more suitable title to what is essentially a disposable expression that leaves me reaching for the sick bucket. Those jaws are chomping at cheese and nothing else and I’m glad the nightmare is over. It’s back to the drawing board guys because this is derivatively dire.

Neil Arnold

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