Something, something book by it’s cover. You know how the saying goes. In that breath, She Must Burn deserve a second look, past the splendidly gothic aesthetic that they

9 years ago

Something, something book by it’s cover. You know how the saying goes. In that breath, She Must Burn deserve a second look, past the splendidly gothic aesthetic that they wear so well. This young Brit outfit look like they should be supporting Cradle Of Filth (would you believe it, they are supporting Cradle later this year in the UK – MM) but their music is more suited to the bouncing environment of dark, technical metal that the UK seems to be cultivating right now. Calling their music blackened will have some guffawing at the statement but their style of metalcore is definitely tarred with a strand or two of that brush. Even a jaded grind enthusiast like oneself has a soft spot for energetic, emotional metal when it’s done right.

https://youtu.be/mkUk87De7Ng

She Must Burn release their self titled EP later this week on Ghost Music and it won’t take long for metalcore stalwarts to hear some of that classic Bleeding Through sound in this band; with a bit more emphasis on black metal vibes than hardcore. Prominent keys and female vocals can be super gimmicky when they’re stuffed into songs that don’t fit, here they are extensions of the tone and shifts in atmosphere that these young’uns are so capable of conjuring up. I have to draw comparisons to genre favourites Nexilva, the super sharp breakdowns and electronics being similar, but She Must Burn ride these out into more somber moments than the Subliminal Groove reps. Where Nexilva jam as much grim in as possible, the cleans here instead serve to lift songs into slightly more anthemic territory. Single “Possessed” is the highlight of the EP with shifts into jarring, precise breakdowns and a chorus hook that really sinks it’s claws in. “Wish To Exist” slows everything down and wouldn’t be out of place on metal radio stations with it’s grand, close to the heart hooks; still keeping enough snarl and pomp to maintain a sufficient level of head movement. Out of an assortment of bands attempting this blend of aggression and feels, few of them pull it off as cleanly as this.

The self titled EP is available over here. Pick it up and party down with some of Britain’s new representatives of blackened-tech-deathcore (not a real thing, just riffing here).

-MM

Matt MacLennan

Published 9 years ago