Review: “Jawbreaker” by Mainbrain

Adorned by disturbing cover art from Indonesian artist Ardha Lepa (Sinister, Malignancy, Putrid Pile), the long awaited debut album “Jawbreaker” from Brutal Spanish Death Metal act Mainbrain has finally arrived. It has been 9 long years since their last confession was recorded with 2013’s “Feeding The Beasts” following hot on the heels of 2012’s “The Plague” arriving before their disappearance and once again this time around they put  themselves in the hands of the tired and trusted Fran Corpas Romero (Times Of War, Lunavieja) at Void Sound Studio for the recording, mixing and mastering.

“Jawbreaker” is a deadly cocktail of violence in a macabre world revolving around tales of serial killings and 80’s horror movies while also taking the time to criticise religious and political aspects in lyrics that make you pick up the lyric sheet once the headbanging is done and think about what lies beneath. There are obvious inspirations from Cannibal Corpse and Six Feet Under during this post mortem and while it would have been easy for the band to take a left hand path into the realm of Slam, they have stuck to their roots and driven down the darkness with their own blend of Brutal Death Metal that is not to be questioned for fear of reprisals. As you might expect the vocals are often indecipherable and while they’re not as harsh as perhaps Tom Bradfield of Twitch Of The Death Nerve they are viciously savage, evolving into another instrument in chaos and bedlam of the all out sonic destruction that the band produce. The record feels like the band are playing together live in a single room with a raw quality to everything gives it a natural feel as it punishes your ear drums, the brutal breakdown section at the end of the title track matched off by the whammy bar drop solo of “Pornf*****” and its these little intricacies that make the record stand out from the wolf pack as Mainbrain bay for blood. “Holmes Castle” then proves that they can do dark atmospheres incredibly well, building to the crescendo with expert precision. The axe attacks come in menacing waves, each one cleaving off more flesh from the bone with “Anymore” underlining how the band have refined their sound in the fires of hell in the intervening years as there is no doubt that they have grown as musicians. The left turn the comes with  “Perfector Lacerator” which brings tasteful hints at Black Metal inspirations with temelo picking and blast beats galore as well as some sublime dark and swirling leads which perhaps point to the direction the band may go in the future despite the thunderous breakdowns this cut also has to offer. A solidly brutal blunt force trauma of a Death Metal album [7/10]

Track listing

1. Jawbreaker
2. Pornf*****
3. Holmes Castle
4. Anymore
5. Perfector Lacerator
6. Addiction

“Jawbreaker” by Mainbrain is out 11th February 2022 and may well be available over at bandcamp