EP Review: Sentient – Long Live Sentient (Self Released)

Formed in 2018, Sentient are a four-piece metal band from Hertfordshire, in the UK. Having already experienced many successful moments already, least of all playing Bloodstock 2023, they will now release their brand-new EP, ‘Long Live Sentient’, on April 4th, 2025.

It is so great to see independent UK bands who reached the reached the pinnacle of playing a major festival like Bloodstock continue to drive forward with intent, and in the case of Sentient, with force.

Force that is displayed in savage style with the opening track, Volitation. The guitars are serrated, the drums are brutish, and the vocals roar with demonic power. It’s heavy but simply calling it that doesn’t do the infectious flashes of groove, the complex layers of progressive thinking, and the varied levels that each instrument (including the vocals) reaches, justice. It’s a beast of an opener and sets the bar very high.

Good news! It’s not alone, and with a more vigorous and explosive showcase of erratic heaviness blended with streaks of melody, Clarity slays too. Whereas Blood for Blood is just a noisy bugger, and there’s nothing to complain about with that. This is the stuff get gets those neck muscles working overtime.

Though, unsurprisingly that doesn’t change with Not Here Forever. The vocals are savage, but the drums also really stand out too. How about that brief but frenzied guitar solo? Badass.

Then there’s a chance to enjoy a bit of melody, post-like melody and powerful drumming with the penultimate track, In the Absence of Love. There’s a lot more to Sentient then you might first think, and a track like this only makes the varied ways of this EP sharper in the mind.

It’s kind of sad to see it end, but end it must, and what an end it is. Impressively brutal, filled with frenzied groove, featuring dramatic melody, and proving to daringly infectious in places, it is a pit starter and floor filler in every way, and it’s the cherry on top of this killer EP. Long Live Sentient indeed.

Sentient – Long Live Sentient Track Listing:

1. Volitation
2. Clarity
3. Blood for Blood
4. Not Here Forever
5. In the Absence of Love
6. A New Kind of Hate

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