Murdock – ‘Dead Lung’ [Review]

If it takes 3o years for a genre to be considered “Classic,” then mathcore is more than halfway to grey-hair territory. Considering that Calculating Infinity has been around for 16 years – and mathcore itself can be traced back through Deftones-style alt-metal, seventies prog and fusion bands, odd-meter-loving jazz maestros, and…well…heroin – it’s amazing that bands who take influence from the Dillinger Escape Plan and their forebears still manage to sound fresh and relevant today.

Perhaps it’s the tendency in today’s money-starved music business to stick to tried and tested formulae in the hope of squeezing every last penny out of trendy and willing/unwitting acts and their fans. Maybe it’s the abundance of originality-, catharsis-, and passion-free pap that said rapidly-rusting machine continues to crap out while it still can. I’d say that the reason mathcore and prog bands still sound so exciting today is because they’re predictably unpredictable.

“Predictably” is the wrong word there. Mathcore bands are consistently unpredictable – which is why even when you come across a band like Murdock (who take obvious influence from DEP’s back catalogue), you can only have the vaguest idea of what could happen next. That point goes double for Dead Lung, during which you can expect to experience many insane math-ridden moments; filthy and sleazy riffs (occasionally augmented by growling djenty guitar tones); sludgy beatdowns; Sikth-esque tech moments; blues-on-crack solos; fragmentary Deftones vibes; and an awesomely versatile vocal that nods in Marilyn Manson’s direction at one point…all without any indication whatsoever that those bits are bearing down on you like an invisible tsunami.

Although you can trace Murdock’s musical roots back to opiates, you won’t need drugs to enjoy Dead Lung. Why? Because this album fucking is drugs.

TMMP RATING: DRUGS (OR 97%, WHATEVER)

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Dead Lung is due to drop on April 13th.

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Posted on 19 March 2015