Review: “1135” EP by Earthshatter

Originally slated for a December 2019 release and put back to 13th January due to the band “feeling it is 100% in the best interest for the quality of the EP” to delay it so “1135” finally saw the light of day 5 weeks later than planned. All of which is absolutely fine, it’s up to Earthshatter to decide if it’s read to go, they don’t want to be looking back like Trivium do to “The Crusade” wishing they’d done something different to make it better. Earthshatter – Kyle Anderson (vocals), Leo Valeri (guitar), Luke Snider (guitar), Dallas Bricker (bass) and Rob Zalischi (drums) are based out of Toronto Canada and feature in their ranks a trio of members of Brand Of Sacrifice and one member from The Parallel.

The EP takes its name from the number of the apartment that Anderson and Valeri shared in 2013 and with both men seeing their other project Brand Of Sacrifice a global touring machine, this project may have to become a slower burning one. Break beats bring in “O’Connor Drive” as a 61 second introduction you would have heard on a Nu-Metal record circa 1999 before the band tear into “Ghost Orchid” which infuses the punch of Varials with the chorus of Linkin Park. Anderson screams through the verses and sings through the choruses with a surprising amount of range as the track lurches from Gloom to Nu-Metal and back as it plays out. “W.T.M” has more of a upbeat vibe with a Pop Punk chorus after the adrenaline fueled savage unclean verse. It’s as if there are two separate bands with opposing styles who have had their tracks mashed up by Valeri in the producers chair. That’s how far apart the two styles are. What’s incredible about it is that after th initial shock of it, it makes for a fun EP with some solid breakdowns.

“Spit” has some of the heaviest vocals on the EP with Anderson using pitch and tone changes to give the impression of as many as 6 or 7 different vocalists on the cut and the vinyl scratch work that is all over this record may put off Brand Of Sacrifice fans if the choruses don’t. There is a great use of gang chants as well and clearly no apology for the choice of direction. The classic Deathcore gun cock and roared vocals over a the final crushing breakdown is brutally fun and perhaps Earthshatter could be a gateway for Nu-Metal heads to heavier styles? “Vic Park” has a bigger sing-a-long chorus and makes up for it with heavier verses. Haunting touches behind the riffs in the form of programming underpins everything and there is so much going on that you might not get it the first time around. You’ve got phone calls, Nu-Metal introspective lyrics, scratch work, breakdowns, groovy bass solos and a huge drum sound – and that doesn’t even scratch the surface. Title track “1135” has a rap screamed passage that brings to mind the debut EP from Issues and Anderson shows that he has some real soul in the clean sung chorus while ripping up that script for the *ahem* Earth shattering uncleans that have some real violent abrasive aggression behind them. “Cheat Code” brings everything home in a off piste 121 second downtempo Nu-Deathcore chug that… Well it could be Attila. Hilariously good fun, tongue in cheek and rammed full of creative ideas, Earthshatter have created an EP that has blown our minds [7.5/10]

Track listing

1. O’Connor Drive
2. Ghost Orchid
3. W.T.M
4. Spit
5. Vic Park
6. 1135
7. Cheat Code

“1135” by Earthshatter is out now