"In need of a Deathcore fix? Low on time? Lost your list of better Core 'recs out there? Maybe urging for a topping of Djent? Then drop in and spin up BEREAVER's "Path To Exile", and get your daily dose of done-before breakdowns, blast beats, ferocious-ish growls, and standardized leads - all in under 8 minutes!"

From Eau Claire, Wisconsin comes BEREAVER; a Deathcore band that bends to Djent, guitar leads like Metalcore, and that plays the length of Grindcore, all to a below average production for this genre of music, on this their debut EP: "Path To Exile".

And let me just underline this hard: I'm generally not fond of this genre of Metal. I tend to find the Core-genres to be underwhelming in their depth-lacking aggression, lackluster melodies, and predictable songwriting, and relatively few bands that adhere to the Core-genres tend to stick with me. So with that in mind, there are a few things that makes BEREAVER slightly more functional for me.

The first of which is the emphasis on the Death part of their form of Deathcore; this is thankfully not another Deathcore band that doesn't understand Death Metal, as BEREAVER utilizes many aspects of this most revered genre well enough to function within their confines. The second is that thanks to their adoration of Grindcore-length of songwriting, they - unlike some of their peers - don't get stuck in too much repetition on each track, since each track simply doesn't last long enough to ever become repetitive. And they do change things up between the 3 tracks on the album as they try out different aspect of their target genres, to plus points for diversity - just shame that the EP's too short to really make this come into fruition.

And that's really where my giving out points end for BEREAVER, because beyond these points there wasn't really anything that made "Path To Exile" stand out for me as more than just another mediocre Core-band. I heard nothing that made me think these guys are the next BORN OF OSIRIS, WHITECHAPEL, or ALL SHALL PERISH, or that they had something to make them be the vanguard of something new and exciting.

So if you have a Core urge, try 'em out. I give no promises, but I expect those more attuned to the genre(s) might find it satisfactory. I'm not one of them, for above-mentioned reasons, so take this for what it is.