EP REVIEW: Cainhurst – A Sacrifice

’…there is an earnestness and heart to their craft which is deeply and undeniably compelling…’

One of the many bands born from the burgeoning south west heavy scene of the UK, last year saw Cainhurst explode into life with their debut EP, ‘A Ceremony’. A vicious collection of tracks that pulled influence from emoviolence, hardcore, and skramz, it offered a blistering introduction to one of the most exciting new bands.

The potential demonstrated on that debut has blossomed in a beautiful and brutal manner on the band’s follow-up, ‘A Sacrifice’. Consolidating their influences into a unique and confrontational sound, this EP not only acts as a wonderfully emotive listen independent of anything else, but also a bristling, complimentary sequel to ‘A Ceremony’.

What makes ‘A Sacrifice‘ particularly potent to behold is how the band have managed to polish and perfect their sound without losing any of their edge; the raw emoviolence and skramz influences that dominated their debut EP are still there, but now unfold in a vastly more expansive and grandiose way that ultimately ends up feeling magnificently beautiful to listen to.

Evocative sung melodies sprawl over the top of surprisingly tender and subdued instrumentals on ‘Wrest Me From the Jaws of Heaven‘, before the track implodes in a cataclysmic storm of screamed gang vocals and immense walls of guitars and drums. ‘West of the Sun‘ sees complex polyrhythms cascade about the listener in a bridge betwixt moments of apocalyptic emoviolence, whilst ‘Love Made Me A Martyr‘ is a visceral and disconcerting sonic panic attack, punctuated by screams of ‘don’t touch me‘ and ‘get out‘.

Lyricism often can feel as though it takes a back seat in genres such as this, but Cainhurst have put just as much care and attention into this aspect of their music as they have the instrumentals. The track titles alone give plenty of indication of what to expect, but they cannot prepare you for how vulnerable and uncomfortable some of the lyricism is here, pulling from themes such as existential dread, religious dogma, gender expression, and violence towards the self.

Emoviolence and its associated genres often form something of an insular community; the abrasive sounds and unconventional musical approaches don’t lend themselves to popular appeal. Cainhurst, however, have managed to somewhat break out into wider consciousness within the heavy community; there is an earnestness and heart to their craft which is deeply and undeniably compelling. Make no mistake, Cainhurst offer something special.

RATING: 83/100 – Very Good

For Fans Of: Chalk Hands, Frail Body, Birds in Row, State Faults, La Dispute, Dreamwell

Follow the band on social media below:

Instagram // Spotify // Twitter