SOUL GRIP Not Ever

CONSOULING SOUNDS

Blackened post-hardcore from the scorched Belgian heartlands

Soul Grip got their start in the Belgian hardcore scene – a place rich in talent and ideas – but here they’ve injected some black metal tricks into their aggressively bleak outlook. Nathan Vander Vaet’s screams are anxietyinducing and Soul Grip’s fiery pace sets them apart from their origins while the post-black shimmers of Never Leave give them an extra push away from their core. Here, the vocals are a touch hidden, laying low in the mix and overwhelmed by the bittersweet energy of the guitars, but both techniques give it a heartbreaking edge that follows into closing track Fiend. Not Ever does suffer from being too familiar at times but the final two tracks pull Soul Grip into more interesting textures, leaving the band able to build on the foundations left here.

FOR FANS OF: Deafheaven, Oathbreaker, Wiegedood

CHERYL CARTER