Formed in 2012, BENT BY SORROW is a collection of rockers from Athens, Greece that have been making their name by touring the area. Their appearance in many live shows and festivals in Greece is helping to add to their fame, giving fans an increasing hunger for new material. In 2013, they released their first EP, "Same Crew, Different Sails," which was followed up by a successor EP in 2016, "Through Fire And Water." Now in 2020, they release their most polished EP to date, "Dementia."

Advertised as alternative groove metal, BENT BY SORROW lists their influences as DEFTONES, SOILWORK, and DISTURBED. I can definitely detect pieces of those bands in "Dementia," but for me the comparison that sticks out above all is metalcore powerhouse KILLSWITCH ENGAGE. BENT BY SORROW musically hits hard all throughout the album, powerful chugging riffs that are face-melters. But it's the vocals by Dim Arap that are the biggest connection. He is able to impressively switch between clean singing and growls on the drop of a dime within a song. Moreover, the key factor that pushes them towards a heavier sound is that his clean singing is rough on its own, a deep, aggressive delivery that perfectly complements that heavy instrumentation.

BENT BY SORROW wastes no time getting to work on "Dementia." Opening track "Truth Behind The Lies" hits hard out of the gate. The guitars are heavy and frantic, moving their way up and down the scale to get your heart beating. This is accented by Vaios Faltakas on drums and George Vasillopoulos on bass, thumping along with a ton of cymbal work to raise that noise. Arap starts the song off with some killer growls, eventually leading into a call and response with himself by screaming out something and then responding cleanly. The chorus is catchy as hell and leans heavily on that downbeat which is perfect for headbanging.

But it's their next song, "False Legacy," that proves that BENT BY SORROW can write absolutely killer music. It was their first announced single and currently their only one with a standard music video to back it. "False Legacy" gets off to a fairly rocking start, Faltakas on drums filling with his full drum kit to carry along Giannakis Dimi, and Pantelis Saroglou on dueling guitars. Arap comes in and croons in his rough gritty voice. But then the bridge hits with a gut punch melody that is fantastically addictive. This leads to the chorus, which is great on its own, but is all the better thanks to that lead in from the bridge.

"Unlike You" is a bit slower of a song and gives Arap a chance to show off a more delicate side of his voice. But this band is not one to sit around and eventually, brings the energy and aggression throughout. Similar story with "Refuse To Sink." There's a bit of a slower start with this track as well, but it leads to a blistering thrashy chorus. "Disease Without A Cure" has a strong DEFTONES and DISTURBED vibe, giving off that sort of nu-metal angsty beginning. The heavy metal instrumentation accompanied by a slick, attitude fueled delivery. Rounding up the album the EP is "Unknown Sources." I love the intro here as it is a bit slow, but unlike the other tracks that get off to a slow start, in this song BENT BY SORROW chose to adopt a haunting sound. Lots of echoes are built in with minimal musical activity to kick off the song and establish a nice dark atmosphere. This makes all the difference when it reaches the chorus and the emotion and sound reach a peak, soaring through a message of pain.

Overall, for their third EP "Dementia," I think BENT BY SORROW is more than ready to hit the mainstream metal world and record a full album. In "Dementia," they have shown very strong songwriting ability. The melodies in the verses are solid throughout and the choruses are all strong and catchy as hell. I think one or two more hard hitting tracks would round it out and give them more "single" material. Definitely a kickass EP worth checking out for those in the mood for some headbanging.

Favorite Song: "False Legacy"