People all process emotions differently. It is part of what makes us unique. Music for a lot of us is our outlet to let emotions such as grief, stress and anxiety come out, and that is why music tends to be so relatable. This is what metalcore duo Deadlands strive to emit through their music, and with SEVEN, this is no different as this short seven track listening experience tackles some of these emotions we all experience on a daily basis, and, as a result, some of these emotions are conveyed extremely well in these tracks, and others are not as much.
SEVEN opens with the second shortest song in ‘Villain’. This track does just enough to introduce the listener to the Deadlands brand of metalcore. A mix of electronic instrumentation with classic metalcore esque double bass drum work, and catchy choruses. This short two-and-a-half-minute long banger does all of this, and it works extremely well, as the chorus on this song is amongst the best between these seven tracks. Yes, the EP name is not a coincidence…
‘MORE!’ has a similar electronic vibe to the previous couple of tracks that came before it, this time featuring a mix of clean and harsh vocals in the verses before the chorus explodes in true metalcore fashion. The breakdown on this track gets my favourite kind of build up; a spoken word to harsh vocal introduction before it fully explodes. This of course leads back into the irresistible chorus before the song ends with the main riff.
The following song is the second I have heard from this two-piece. ‘Limbo’ feels like a pop track when you take away the main riff and the occasional harsh vocals in the verses. The chorus here sounds like a mainstream pop artists wrote it, as the breakdown is a slower version of the main riff with harsh vocals over it, making this one a very intriguing listen.
The closing track is possibly the catchiest one. Yes, it has heavy verses packed with the iconic Kasey Karlsen harsh vocals, but the chorus is extremely melodic and fits the track better than most. By the time this song finished, a follow-up listen was obligatory.
The concept of this short release was for each track to represent one of the seven deadly sins, but there can only be so much variety metalcore can include. That is why upon starting to listen to this EP, I expected much more variety, as in each song should sound completely different based on the sin they are based off, but this is not the case. Instead, each song has a completely different sounding chorus, but the riffs and instrumentals sound similar in all the tracks. Some songs do have more electronic elements which adds to the variety, but more is expected when writing such a conceptual seven track EP.
Overall, SEVEN is a very enjoyable listening experiences with catchy choruses throughout, and heavy breakdowns which is what metalcore is all about. If these tracks could have had different riffs to help differentiate them amongst each other, this could truly be elevated to a whole other level. That is not the point of this release. This release was written so that we could have something to relate to, and Deadlands have done just that. Throughout these seven tracks, there is something for everyone to relate to, and as a music enthusiast, that is exactly what I look for in the sounds I digest.
Deadlands: SEVEN EP – Out 27 June 2025 (Spinefarm)
