Review: “For All the Dead Dreams” by Mastiff

Known for their tales of Misanthropy, Nihilism, Hatred and Despair in Sludge Metal laced Hardcore, Kingston Upon Hull five piece Mastiff are the kind of band who will meet you at midnight on a building site for a brick fight if you cross them. They’ve spent the last twelve years reducing venues to rubble on stages alongside everyone from Conan to Iron Monkey  while earning the right to see their track “Acid Breather” appear in the multi-million-selling video game Cyberpunk 2077 and its Netflix anime spin-off Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.  Recorded and mixed by Joe Clayton (Trudger, Dawn Walker, Ithaca) at Nø Studio and mastered by the legend that is Brad Boatright (Kylesa, Vastum, Obituary) at Audiosiege, their next burnt offering is five blistering cuts titled “For All the Dead Dreams“…

Vocalist Jim Hodge warns of everything being built on a lust for power and greed on vicious opening cut “Soliloquy“, a track that finds Mastiff engaged in Sludge Metal fueled Hardcore of the highest order. A sobering, bleak lyrical narrative that depicts Hodge as a disengaged protagonist who simply wants to shut off from the world and all of its bulls***, it’s one that not only resonates but is matched in balance by the weighty crush of the guitars and bludgeoning of the percussion. They say that one good turn deserves another so after that hard hitting opening cut “Rotting Blossoms” delivers with a sinister bit of lead over rapid fire rhythms before the caustic vocal tirade begins once more. Sending a chill down the spine those leads return as the drums gallop, the band capturing their live energy in this commitment to tape. The lyrical title track, its a neck snapping piece of majesty that honours influences in the likes of Crowbar and Raging Speedhorn in style.

Blast beats from Mike Shepherd add weight to yet more sinister leads with the aggravated piece of blistering Hardcore that is “Decimated Graves“. Hodge doesn’t suffer fools gladly and delivers the kind of vocal performance that decimates the weak and thins the herd as the others tear a whole in the space time continuum with their commanding rhythms. Subtle tempo shifts make all the difference to this one with both Joe Clayton and Brad Boatright deserving a lot of credit for their work behind the boards. They’ve given Mastiff a huge, cavernous sound that works incredibly well with the material they’ve conjured. If you were expecting the Kingston Upon Hull natives to slow down with “A Story Behind Every Light” and offer up a haunting acoustic number, you couldn’t be further from the truth as Hodge admits to envying the dead in his cathartic roars. Dark, menacing and malevolent, the energy of the rhythms on this one is soul stirring before Phil Johnson and James Lee-Ross flirt with dangerous squeals to bring the house down in bloodthirsty style. One more time around the cemetery for s***s and giggles they run with “Corporeal” a masterclass in incendiary Hardcore. The war drums pound as the bass rumbles, this finale registering as seismic activity as Hodges refuses to suffer someones victim mindset. A bullish and brutal record from a band who have paid more than their dues over the past twelve years, this is one that will leave your ears ringing as you cry out for more [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Soliloquy
2. Rotting Blossoms
3. Decimated Graves
4. A Story Behind Every Light
5. Corporeal

“For All the Dead Dreams” by Mastiff is out 24th October 2025 via Church Road Records and is available over at bandcamp