Reviews list for Mastiff - Leave Me the Ashes of the Earth (2021)

Oddly, when requesting this release to be added to the site I was shocked at first to see it tagged with the Revolution clan alongside the more logical (in my head at the time) Fallen clan due to the albums wealth of sludge metal.  Listening back through now I can absolutely see where the metalcore tag is coming from with the stop / start chug of the riffs and the blasting yet memorable tracks forming a more accessible sound than straight up sludge metal normally does.

Mastiff are a well-established band from the East Riding of Yorkshire in England.  LMtAotE is their third full-length release and the experience shows on here.  Everything sounds like a well drilled band who are tight as fuck and able to deliver some punishing metallic hardcore and terrifying sludge metal.  Vocalist Jim Hodge reminds me an awful lot of Barney from Napalm Death which is no bad thing and at times the band as a whole make the similarity more relevant with their ability to deliver bouncing and memorable rhythm sections virtually as strong as the legends themselves do.

It is not an album that I will play much as I find it far better suited to a quick fix of bruising music when I am doing chores or getting ready for work but I just need that extra kick up the arse to get things done.  The twin guitar attack of Johnson and Lee really give the tracks the power they need and as result the whole record feels beefy and muscular without being overbearing, like it is in the corner of the gym benching 180kgs but isn't going over the top shouting about it.  Instead it just lets the reps do the talking.  The pace does drop to much more doomier climes on a couple of occasions and it is just as intense an experience in these more cavernous moments as it is when the band are in full on fight mode.