28th December 2021

Review: “Grave Of The Condemed King” from Befell

Hailing from State College Pennsylvania, Befell have grown since their debut “Solitude” from a trio to a quartet with the addition of bassist Jon Perini joining vocalist and guitarist Bruce Boring, guitarist Mitchell Caprio and drummer Jace Ebersole, giving the Metalcore warriors another dimension and enabling them to play live without compromise…

…the quality of the bands debut offering was so high that “Grave Of The Condemed King” was highly anticipated as soon as it was mentioned and the band don’t disappoint with opening cut “Your Martyr” offering up all the killer combinations that you’d expect from a prize heavyweight champion in his prime. The vocals are varied with impressive cleans pitched against gravely tones with absolutely no slow down in the onslaught of slick Trivium esq riffage that accompanies them. The pacing is energetic and infections while setting the tempo of the damned damned for the record as a whole and when “Plague The Silence” hits, it hits hard with thunderous percussion and intricate leads over bombastic breakdowns that are the absolute Chef’s Kiss before the extended solo that is quite simply divine. All the stops have been pulled out to get the sound just right, the mix on these cuts is sublime, as if a master like Colin Richardson (Trivium, Fear Factory, Machine Head) was at the helm, the rhythm section sounds huge, the balance is perfectly weighed between each instrument and that only serves to allow the actual musicanship on these songs to shine and it shines so brightly it will burn your retinas. Mid EP offering “Tribulation Wilted” isn’t just a sensational song, it’s a tour de force of the Metalcore genre since 2003 with all the finest elements of it wrapped into one entity. So people can talk about the genre all they want but when it comes down to brass tacks and bloody knuckles, Befell are are the top of the pile when it comes to bands doing Metalcore in the current moment and put others to shame. Injecting more melody while still having a plethora of barbed moments “Silence The Sorrow” paints between the lines of heartache with a stunning sing along clean vocal chorus that is perfect for the bigger stages. It’s impossible listening to this record not to want to bang your head, crack a smile or indeed predict big things and a bright future of international touring and a lifetime career in Metal for Befell. The EP is that good and we haven’t even mentioned the grand finale that is “Individual Thought” at this point. Needless to say it’s a firecracker of a cut, rich and dynamic to the point of being vibrant. But doesn’t take our word for it, go and check this record out as soon as humanly possible! [9/10]

Track listing