MENTAL MAZE is a Brutalcore/Deathcore band that was formed in 2008 in Haifa, Israel, a country that doesn't bring us too much music in the genres that we at METAL TEMPLE usually listen to. The only one that springs to mind is the impressive Black Metal band MELECLESH. Back to MENTAL MAZE. They existed for some five years, then called it quits in 2013. Ten years later, in 2023, they resurfaced and now, another two years on we are being treated to their very first EP, which they named "Here Goes Nothing". It offers you just over 21 minutes of very Heavy, Hard Hitting and Extremely Intense Metal that fits the musical genres mentioned. If the band has released anything before this EP, I couldn't find it. let us know if you know more than I do.

As this is the first time, I encountered MENTAL MAZE I was able to go in with a completely blank opinion and open mind. And to put your mind at ease; this isn't half bad. "Here Goes Nothing" is filled with very some very good riffs, rather impressive drumming and a solid sounding bass. On  top of that you have the vocals, that range from deep Death Metal grunts to Thrash metal growls and sometimes even Black metal screams. Plus you can add some very carefully conducted pig squeals, but those aren't being used at full force. The combination of the music and the vocals is done is a way that suggests that these Israeli musicians know what they're doing, are aware of what works and what not.

The rhythms are widespread, the breaks are plentiful and then intensity is almost claustrophobic. And as MENTAL MAZE doesn't seem to use any boundaries in how far they can go, it makes that every song on "Here Goes Nothing" has their own identity, whilst the EP as a whole still have the ability to sound very cohesive. They might call their musical genre Brutalcore/Deathcore, I do believe that a Death Metal fan as well as a Thrash metal fan could be able to enjoy this. This isn't one of those that goes from Heavy to Soft from time to time. On the contrary, this is like a waltz coming through and trying to flatten everything in its path. As for the songs, they are solid. Nothing more, nothing less, but I have a feeling that with "Here Goes Nothing" being just an EP it hopefully will help MENTAL MAZE grow musically.