Deathblow’s Latest EP Could Be Its Breakthrough Record Given The Right Support

By: Philip Sayblack

​This past June, hardcore band Deathblow released its new EP, Open Season through independent record label Sewer Mouth Records.  The four songs that make up the record span a brief 12 minutes but in that time they pack quite a punch musically.  The record’s lyrical content makes for its own intense impact, too.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the record.  All things considered they make Open Season a welcome addition to this year’s field of new EPs that if it has not already, is sure to appeal to a wide range of audiences.
Open Season, the recently released new EP from Deathblow, is an interesting addition to this year’s field of new EPs.  The follow-up to the band’s 2023 EP, Rotten Trajectory, it is certain to find appeal among a wide range of audiences. That is due in part to the musical arrangements that are exhibited throughout the record’s short run time.  The arrangements, from one to the next, show a clear growth from the band in comparison to most of the work that the band has produced since releasing its debut album, Prognosis Negative in 2014.  That is because the majority of the compositions that the band has presented since that time have been geared more in a clear thrash metal direction.  There are even some death metal leanings in the band’s body of work, subtle as they are.  By comparison what the band presents here is more of a New York Hardcore style sound a la Madball.  The band’s thrash leanings are still present throughout but no doubt the much more hardcore lean is as present as ever here.  That growth is certain to expand the band’s audience base given the right support from radio and media outlets.  To that end, the musical presentation featured throughout Open Season makes for reason in itself for audiences to give the EP a chance. 
The musical presentation within Open Season is just part of what makes the four-song record worth hearing.  The social and sociopolitical commentary contained within the record makes for its own share of interest.  Case n point is the record’s second track (and second single) ‘Deny, Defend, Dispose.’  This song comes across lyrically as a damning indictment of those in power and how they abuse the middle class.  This as front man/guitarist “Holger” states in the song’s lead verse and chorus, “they built their house of glass/bet they wish that they never had/Parasites/Sucking out the life/So easily exposed/Deny, Defend, Dispose!/Too much, too fast/Just leeching off the working class/Give them just an inch/And they’ll take a f****** mile/Their fate is self-imposed/Deny, Defend, Dispose!/Talk is cheap/And there’s nowhere left to hide/You profit off of people/As they die/I won’t cry for those gambling with our lives/Your time is up/Your claim has been denied.”  That final line right there, “Your claim has been denied” points a harsh finger at America’s health care system and those connected directly to it within this nation’s halls of power (including even within Congress’ halls).  If in fact that is the case then this is a harsh and deserved indictment of the country’s healthcare system.  What’s more, few if any bands out there are taking on or have even taken on America’s healthcare infrastructure in their songs, so that being the case, kudos goes to Deathblow for this commentary.
On another note, the EP’s title track and lead single is another solid example of the strength of the EP’s lyrical content.  IN the case of this song, the theme seemingly takes on the horrific militaristic actions being taken globally and the reaction (or lack thereof) by the general populace.  This is inferred as it states early on, “Did it rattle your feelings/Whey they spoke out of line/Were you lost in denial/When children were buried alive?/Have your liberal values been put to the test/There’s no lesser of evil/In this system of death/Your silence is fueling modern pogroms/As you debate which side/Should be sending them the bombs.”  Before we get deep into the weeds here, “pogrom” really is a word.  According to Merriam-Webster, a pogrom is “an organized massacre of helpless people.”  To that end, what audiences get in this lead verse is another damning indictment, again as noted, that of the military campaigns being waged globally and that regardless of the waging, there is no lesser of two evils because both sides are guilty of mass murder, essentially.  In asking “Were you lost in denial/When children were buried alive?”, the band is asking “Did you say anything when these atrocities that even claimed the lives of children were happening?”  The band revisits the notion in the song’s final line, stating, “Your silence won’t save you from internal decay/From the rubble of Gaza to the prison gates of Guantanamo Bay” while adding ahead of that, “If they came for your family/Would you sit idly by?/Is your personal comfort worth more than your lives?”  This is another powerful statement all in all that further makes the case for why this EP’s lyrical content is so important to its presentation.
Yet one more example of what makes the EP’s lyrical content so important comes in the EP’s closer, ‘Never Again.’  As with the EP’s opener, this song follows in similar fashion, lyrically speaking.  It adds another layer to the mix though, indicting people who “twist the words of God/To cut hell loose/Rape and rob.”  To this day there are people who continue to do just that right here in America.  It has been happening since the Puritans came to America from England.  Just as powerfully, the band reminds those who would commit such atrocities, “You can shoot them in the back/But their knees will never bend…Cry wolf/You aren’t a victim/You’ve become everything that you feared.”  This is such a powerful statement yet again.  That statement is a reference – intended or not – to the adage that “I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees.”  Between this hard hitting statement, the others examined here and even that noted in the record’s remaining song, ‘Tormentor,’ there is no doubt as to the importance of the record’s lyrical themes.  When those overall themes are considered alongside the EP’s equally powerful musical arrangements, the whole make for a presentation that is certain to appeal to a wide range of audiences.
Putting the finishing touch to the record is its production.  There is so much intensity in the record’s arrangements, needless to say.  That means that the utmost attention had to be paid to each arrangement in order to not let any one part overpower the others.  The result was that each song is impacting fully in its own right and in turn makes the overall presentation fully immersive, engaging and entertaining.  Keeping in mind, the positive aesthetic impact ensured through the production alongside the appeal ensured through the record’s overall content, the whole makes Open Season undeniably one of this year’s best new EPs.
Open Season, the latest studio recording from Deathblow, is a strong new offering from the veteran independent metal outfit.  That is proven in part through its musical arrangements.  The arrangements are of note because of the growth they exhibit from the band.  Instead of the standard fare from the band, the group has instead opted to take its familiar thrash leanings and blend them with a more New York Hardcore approach.  It is a different approach taken by the band in comparison to the compositions that make up the band’s other records and one that is sure to appeal to a wide range of audiences in itself.  The lyrical themes that accompany the EP’s musical arrangements make for their own interest as they are just as hard hitting as the record’s musical content.  That is due to their stirring social and sociopolitical commentary.  The record’s production puts the finishing touch to the whole, ensuring the fullest impact is made in each song.  Each item examined is important in its own way to the whole of the EP.  All things considered they make Open Season one more welcome addition to this year’s field of new EPs.
Open Season is available now.  More information on the EP is available along with all of Deathblow’s latest news at https://facebook.com/deathblowofficial.