Cast Down- A Deconstruction of Self EP review

Let's be honest average hardcore bands are super common in Australia and also worldwide over the last five years. The key issue is both lack of originality and a notion to simply imitate overseas bands in the worst possible way. This is why I have loved Cast Down since they dropped their first track back in 2016. They steer away from the mundane and boring and are the most innovative hardcore/metal band in Australia.

This fantastically crafted EP dropped late last month and it drips in it's dark dynamic flow and aggression. Six tracks of unhinged industrial tinged hardcore, but metal as fuck. This crew has played with the likes of Harm's Way and No Zodiac as well as playing the Download festival last year. They deserve your attention because NO ONE ELSE IS DOING THIS STYLE and they crush live as well as being exceptionally down to each people.

The production is perfectly matched to the song structures which are tangential and diverse with each track. Is this a band struggling to work out who they are, not remotely. They certainly have a Fear Factoryesque/ Industrial vibe but no pidgeonholing here remotely. Just as Harm's Way utilise the hard and jarring edges of hardcore industrial genres, Cast Down do so in a completely different way that compliments,not overpowers their hardcore foundation. There is a peak Nine Inch Nails influence here as well as some touches of current hardcore heroes Knocked Loose and Code Orange. But the cherry on the top of this brilliant EP is the deranged vocals that are original as hell and flow with the insane melodrama created by the psychotic riffs that perpetuate each track.

I can't play favorites with any tracks as all are stellar and worth your earspace.

watch this :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHaNZJQPu3E

and the EP is out now via the always diverse EVP recordings.

https://evp-recordings.bandcamp.com/album/a-deconstruction-of-self




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