EP Review: ten56. – Downer Part.2 (Out of Line)

Having initially burst onto the scene in the midst of the pandemic, ten56. have so far had a short but impressive journey. Fronted by Aaron Matts (ex Betraying The Martyrs) and also including members from Kadinja and Uneven Structure, ten56. have quickly surpassed 8 million streams on Spotify and become a viral sensation within the metal community.

Following the release of their debut EP ‘Downer Part.1’ in 2021 and single ‘Yenta’ earlier in 2022, ten56. now make their return with the release ‘Downer Part.2’. The new EP will be released on the 13th of January 2023.

Talk about making an impact! ten56. came out of nowhere and have blown up in impressive form over past couple of years. So much so, that this new EP is hotly anticipated. ten56. may have given fans a taste of just how wildly eclectic this new record is with the likes of Traumadoll and RLS but even then, it will take quite a few people by surprise.

Opening proceedings with a blast of hardcore-infused metallic noise. The stompy beat of Yenta gets the blood pumping intensely but this is also a track that descends into nightmarish realms of noise. ten56. sound particularly abrasive here, delivering one of their most ‘crowd-killing breakdowns’ along the way, but it’s extremely exciting.

It’s a tough task to follow such a strong opening track, but with Traumadoll, ten56. up the hardcore heavy intensity while mixing in modern trap style energy. Before RLS changes the tone of the EP significantly with ten56. really pushing the boundaries of what listeners can expect from them. The genre-bending the band are known for is put to the side for a rough mix of industrial and trap. Where an attempt to add emotion fails to fully materialise. It’s just not a very good track to listen too, unfortunately.

It’s not enough to derail things completely though as both Saiko and Masque have the energy and intensity that makes ten56. such a delight to listen to. Sandwiched in between them is Intruder. A brief intermission (47 seconds) of sound effects and deck scratching. Before the EP wraps up with Ender and ten56. going darker, exposing the nerves in a blend of ferocious tempos, and reaching death metal levels of disgust. It’s a very meaty and mean finale.

It’s a top-tier release from ten56., even with the less than stellar RLS (likely to be a polarising track anyway), the rise of ten56. certainly isn’t going to falter once the fanbase has consumed this EP.

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