April 2023 Feature Release - The Revolution Edition

So just like that we find that a new month is upon us which of course means that we’ll be nominating a brand new monthly feature release for each clan. This essentially means that we’re asking you to rate, review & discuss our chosen features for no other reason than because we enjoy the process & banter. We’re really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on our chosen releases so don’t be shy.

This month’s feature release for The Revolution has been nominated by myself. It's 2017's highly regarded "Pig" E.P. from Massachusetts mathcore outfit Mouthbreather, a very short release that sounds on paper like it might be right up my alley.

https://metal.academy/releases/4856

I gave this one some listening and a (not-so-full) review, and once again if anyone thinks this kind of grind-mathcore chaos is worth it for me, well.... https://metal.academy/reviews/29418/4856

Here's my review:

I’ve found my taste profile to be increasingly open to The Revolution in recent years but it tends to be only certain pockets that really float my boat with others leaving me a bit flat. Clearly the most appealing style of metalcore for me though is the more chaotic & extreme forms of mathcore, particularly when combined with sludge metal &/or grindcore. I’ve been known to seek out releases that fall into that bracket occasionally in order to satisfy my itch for those sounds & Mouthbreather’s “Pig” appeared to be a very promising prospect based on the information I was reading online with reviews being generally very positive & the grindcore genre receiving regular mentions as an influence so I was pretty confident of finding another off-the-hook addition to my small list of short & psychotic balls of energy.

Interestingly though, the very short seven minute “Pig” E.P. isn’t exactly what I thought it would be. For starters, it’s far from the most technical of mathcore releases. In fact, I’d suggest that it falls somewhere in between mathcore & traditional metalcore even though it’s quite a noisy & chaotic release. It’s structures just aren’t that rhythmically complex & the links to the mathy end of the genre tend to come more from the unusual use of guitar noise which is a feature of the record. Where is the grindcore that people have been referencing though? I can only identify about 30 seconds of grind influence across the whole seven tracks to be honest which left me a touch disappointed given my strong affiliation with The Horde. I can only guess that it’s the very short track lengths that are prompting people to make that link but let's not forget that short track lengths are par for the course in purist hardcore circles.

Anthony Santagati’s over-the-top vocals fall well within the confines of the metalcore spectrum & he does a reasonably good job as he spits his words out with undeniable spite & vitriol. The use of metalcore breakdowns is quite prominent too with the occasional use of gravity drops also being employed to provide a little more oomph. Both of those elements see Mouthbreather losing a little steam for me personally as they start to angle them back towards the masses when they don’t actually sound all that generic. “Ryan Goes To Rehab” is more of a short sludge metal piece which appears to have been included in order to break up the relentless barrage of metallic hardcore aggression. I think it’s fit for purpose too but the same can’t be said for closing sound collage piece “Religion & Tonic” which sees the E.P. petering out in a whimper & is one of the deciding factors in “Pig” missing out on a pass mark from me when you consider that it’s also one of the longer inclusions in the tracklisting. The other main detractor is the noticeable lack of highlights with all six of the metal-based tracks being quite good but none of them ever really threatening to reach a solid 4/5 score. When your closer is as poor as this one then you really need at least a couple of truly great tracks to balance it out but unfortunately that’s not the case here.

I’ve been a little disappointed with “Pig” to be honest as I was expecting more given how highly regarded it seems to be. Bands like Gaza, War From A Harlot’s Mouth & Inside The Beehive do this extreme brand of mathcore much better than this in my opinion & I’d recommend that you explore those artists before venturing towards Mouthbreather. Then again, the seven minute run time hardly requires much investment now, does it?

3/5