Deathcore is experiencing something of a renaissance in the 2020s. Lorna Shore is now a household name in metal, amassing more than a million monthly listeners on Spotify, whereas 2000s groups like Suicide Silence and Chelsea Grin are still going strong with no signs of stopping. So when metalcore act The Afterimage decided to turn up the heavy and rebrand as Brand of Sacrifice in 2018, the Berserk-themed rockers turned their sound up to 11 and took a risk starting from scratch after building their Afterimage name for 7 years. When the Ontario outfit released Lifeblood in 2021, it stuck in my rotation thanks to compelling features, an onslaught of breakdowns, and undeniable talent making for an instant classic. I’ve been impatiently awaiting its follow-up, and it’s finally here in the form of the Between Death and Dreams EP. Can Brand of Sacrifice recapture the magic?
As Brand of Sacrifice released two of the four songs on Between Death and Dreams as singles, there’s two new offerings serving as the opener and closer of this EP. This is a brilliant strategy to ensure listeners that have been keen on this listen to give the EP a full listen. Leading up to the release of Between Death and Dreams, Brand of Sacrifice teased that there would be “the heavy one” and “the sad one”. This was a novel prospect considering deathcore isn’t typically associated with sadness (save for Darko’s “Donna”), but we’ll explore that on the closer. “Blinded” welcomes the listener into Between Death and Dreams as the aforementioned “heavy one”. Considering all four songs have breakdowns and blast beats, it’s fair to call them all “the heavy one”, but the downtempo breakdown in this one coupled with vocalist Kyle Anderson doing the pig-squeal highs that have made this genre so popular make for a positively demonic-sounding intro to the EP.
“Exodus” is up next on Between Death and Dreams, creating instant hype with the phrase “You will not survive”. This chorus includes clean vocals, typically a curveball in deathcore, but slowly becoming more prevalent with bands like Whitechapel and Left to Suffer breathing new life into one of the heaviest genres. Kyle’s ability to switch from filthy uncleans to impassioned cleans is what will set this band apart from the pack. I also found the groove of utilizing blast beats within the third measure of the pre-chorus fascinating and fresh. Second single “Dynasty” also manages to drum up instantaneous excitement with a high-speed synth intro ahead of the instruments. The band’s best breakdown yet arrives as they manage to flip a switch from a blistering frenzy into a mesmerizing snail’s pace in the matter of a few measures of music. This is peak songwriting meeting talented execution and easily some of Brand of Sacrifice’s best work yet.
The closeout of Between Death and Dreams lies with the title track. Instant comparisons will be drawn to Linkin Park with the synth reminiscent of “Faint” and “Crawling”, truly an unexpected but welcome addition to this EP. Another clean vocal chorus puts the “sad song” context in full view with lyrics “Never-ending agony / the fear it lives on inside you and me / separating death from dreams / no sympathy, my misery, complete”. Brand of Sacrifice fits in one more breakdown before wrapping up Between Death and Dreams with a chorus outro. Sitting at 16 minutes of new music, there’s not a second of filler as these four tracks had me putting it on repeat without a second thought. Brand of Sacrifice have perfected their songwriting and seamlessly found their niche in a genre that is exploding in popularity; with Between Death and Dreams, it’s only a matter of time before they’re headlining North America and amassing the popularity they’ve proven they deserve.
Rating: 4.5/5
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