EP Review: Death the Leveller – Death the Leveller (Self Released)

Irish doom metal band, Death the Leveller’s self-titled EP was released on June 12th 2017. The band’s name derives from the poem, ‘Death the Leveller’ by James Shirley (1596-1666).

“The glories of our blood and state
Are shadows, not substantial things…
Men must give up their murmuring breath
When they, pale captives, creep to death…
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in their dust.”

Four tracks of epic doom, Death the Leveller bring a gothic brand of heaviness with this EP. One that has a dark & troubling melodic beat. A Call to Men of Noble Blood showcases this perfectly with its slow & booming rhythm, clean vocals & tempo increase near the end.

This is music to lean back, take a long sip of something strong & lose yourself in.

Gone Forever Fixed ups the epic sound that Death the Leveller deliver thanks in part to the incredible vocals but is also helped by the constant doomy riffs. Things then take an ever darker & deeper turn with the mind-bogglingly heavy, The Day Before the Night of Broke. Like the buzzing of flies it echoes through the skull but does highlight an issue with the EP.

All four tracks come in at 9/10 minutes long & on occasions you can’t help but get the feeling that a certain track should have ended a few minutes earlier. Not such a problem with the final track , How to Break Pernicious Spells as it throws out wildly different hooks & switches tempo several times.

An impressive offering from Death the Leveller.

Death the Leveller – Death the Leveller Full Track Listing:

1. A Call to Men of Noble Blood
2. Gone Forever Fixed
3. The Day Before the Night of Broke
4. How to Break Pernicious Spells

You can stream the EP & buy it via Bandcamp, Spotify & Apple Music (preview below). Keep up to date with news & find out more about Death the Leveller on Facebook.