27th March 2020

Review: “Beneath The Surface” EP by Stitched

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Jake Murry at Bay Ten Studios, “Beneath The Surface” is the debut EP from Birmingham hardcore quintet Stitched. They love both Down and MTXS and have a bio that simply says “Bring back the hate” while debut “Second Face” landed via the Slam Worldwide YouTube channel a month before their debut EP. So that will be 13 minutes of “norty riffs, sexy drums and shouting“?

A slow sinister riff isn’t usually the way you’d expect a Hardcore release to begin but with “Gone Tomorrow“, Stitched take the road less traveled with some 90s Biohazard atmospherics before stepping up through the gears with some faster chugging riffs and barked vocals. A heavy loose stringed bass sound adds a gravity and the whole thing is a fine place to start. The aforementioned debut single “Second Face” is keeps the pace and energy from the tail end of the opening cut with a more introspective vocal about having a bleak future despite working ones fingers to the bone, something we can all relate to. The kit work shines with some interesting fills against the stuccato riffage and that keeps things going nicely while calling out a two faced scumbag. “Crown Of Thorns” bites just as hard as the earlier tracks with a mid tempo mosh pit friendly vibe and the band aren’t afraid to drop out the guitars for a few vocal lines to let the bass bleed through the mix before stepping it back up. There is no doubt that when it comes to the live show, the bands pacing will be higher and this headbanging cut will be more of a hammerblow. We could talk about the Hatebreed influence but you’d expect that. Speech sample and dark atmospheres bring in “The Twelfth Tarot” which is a stand out cut. Playing the samples between the verses while delivering some stompey moments of hammer throwing crunch, it’s a worthy adversary. The sense of mental anguish is well captured and that post traumatic stress syndrome vibe comes through the lyrics nicely [7/10]

Track listing