It could be argued that Deathcore as a genre has become stagnant with bands happy to stay the course whilst offering nothing more than small changes in sound, almost unable or not willing to push themselves. However along come Martyr Defiled from Lincoln, UK, who have torn Deathcore a new arsehole with their second album Young Gods (self-released).

After the critical and commercial success that was their début record No Hope No Morality in 2014 (Century Media) the band are back with an album that has been three years in the making, and the amount of time taken shows through in abundance as the band have clearly been honing their craft and moulding themselves a clear and defined path. Time well spent most definitely.

Not least in considering that this is a concept album based on the story of a bitter old man accused of a being a witch. He is then burned alive, but not before he calls upon dark gods to curse his killers. He is then reincarnated as a young god. This young god then casts a shadow over the world where the old man died.

Be under no illusion. Martyr Defiled are not going at this half-baked. Every part of the concept is fully fleshed out, with the vocal trade-offs being a real highlight. Here you can almost sense through the different voices on display that a story is being told.

Everything on the album has clearly had a lot of thought put it into it and, of course, what is a metal album without riffs. This is where the band really excel themselves. On the track ‘At The Throne Of Salem’ the band reach a heaviness akin to bands like Black Tongue but also manage to laden the song with an eerie sense of dread.

There is also a catchiness to everything that Martyr Defiled write, which is such a breath of fresh in this genre. The track which perfectly set this off is ‘Bury Your Corpses Deep’ which has an awesome bouncy intro/verse stomp that will get pits going absolutely mental, this all leads to an ending which sounds like a slowed down Anthrax riff.

Other notable tracks include the Thrash hybrid that is ‘Pestilent Bastille’, and ‘Kneel’ which features guest vocals by Konan from the band Malevolence and has an exquisite beatdown at the end.

This then is an amazing return from a band who promised much on their début and are now delivering in spades. A dark atmospheric brooding vibe is countered by catchy and groovy song structures that are built with riffs so well written you’ll never get bored.

9.0/10

KIERAN MITCHELL