7th March 2020

Review: “Pain” EP by Falcifer

Recording “Pain” with by Lachy Pitcher at Depict Studios before passing it to Lance Prenc for Mixing & Mastering, Adelaide Australian act Falcifer have made fans wait an incredible 1,250 days between EPs. Announcing their signing to Greyscale Records they joined a sold out Invasion Fest 2020 which set the tone for a new era of the Metallic Hardcore quintet. That saw them join the likes of Knocked Loose, Jesus Piece, Alpha Wolf and Malevolence in taking to the stage and with material from 2017’s “Theta” still as good and relevant as the day it was released, this new offering has a lot of promise. The band formed back in 2017 when guitarist duo Kym and Jarrad who had previously played together on other projects approached vocalist Steph who went on to name the band after a book, “Falcifer, Lord Of Darkness”. Alex Pepper joined on drums with Alex Henderson on bass being the final piece of that jigsaw puzzle.

Coming in swinging “Hostile” sits in the space between Metallic Hardcore and bands like I Killed The Prom Queen with Steph offering some blunt force trauma Death Metal infused vocal hostility while guitarists Kym and Jarrad bring in tight and sinister riffs that keep things on the Prison side of violent. We all know that Australia at this current time is a hot bed for Metal music talent with seemingly everyone in the country either a medal winning athlete or in a band and with “Pain“, Falcifer have announced themselves as firmly in amongst the pack of wolves that are after time in your headphones. If the opening track wasn’t enough persuasion then “Burning” will be the one to get your attention. Having a post-hardcore leaning opening before breaking into it’s stride and maintaining that dark feel with a slow burn lead riff before repeated breakdowns hit like waves, its a fine piece of work. Allowing the rhythm section to take the introduction with a bass heavy call the the pit and a huge drum sound “Impurity” is a piece of circle pit worthy material that sees Steph call out the weak and ask what you’ll do when the chips are down. Returning to that clicky bass heavy moment the closing is a solid moment and with grit and integrity the EP title track hits hard. “Pain” asks the question about what you should do with the guilt, pain and anguish that sits heavy in the heart and head while calling for an end to it. That heavy lyric brings out one of Steph’s finest vocal performances while the band show of some 90’s hardcore proficiency with some ferocious riffs and even an arty sample. “Demise” closes the EP on it’s longest cut and frankly it’s a shame because you want more from it so you know by the end of the track you’re just going to push play again. Another slab of crunchy Metallic Hardcore with a whirlwind of drum fills and more awesome pause break moments, it’s the slower headbang closing that says if you let the leash off then you’re going to get bitten [8/10]

Track listing