Having performed on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock in 2022, Birmingham's CALLOUS HANDS extinguished any doubt of its aggressive intent, unleashing the sort of napalm-slathered inferno that metalheads live for. Since the band's outstanding appearance at one of the UK's most revered festivals, CALLOUS HANDS hasn't just kept the fire in its belly roaring; it's strapped a bodysuit of TNT to its fiery mix of crushing groove metal and pulverising hardcore to produce its face-melting sophomore EP, "Trapped in Animated Flesh".

After the deceptively sweetened intro of "The Cycle Remains", the calm before the storm erupts into a blurring whirlpool of blistering instrumentals, blending chugging tempos with syncopated moments, thrusting an explosive vocal contrast of bellowing low register gutturals and ear-shattering shrill pitch. CALLOUS HANDS wallops the anvil-heaviness down with pent-up frustration and hate-fuelled, piss-boiling anger leading the way into the hard-bitten hardcore tones of "Suffocate", bruising and bloody with some deranged rhythmic shifts, ignited drums, and downright possessed vocals, making way for the more groove-leaning affair of "The Great Unknown", which injects a couple of breakdowns in amongst a seething drum show that elevates the track to a fever pitch of chaos.

By the time you reach the audial violation of "Trapped", it's clear CALLOUS HANDS has a malicious force driving its dynamo of brutality with a bone-shattering ability to pummel and grind into oblivion. The walloping aggression of "Fractured Worlds" smacks with its prominent low-end and maelstrom of riffs, blasts, and splintered rhythms, bogging together into a thickened sludge of apoplectic hostility, but juxtaposed with a clean and polished solo that creeps in to become the underpin of the rest of the track, all whilst managing to maintain the consistent discompose the band has delivered throughout "Trapped in Animated Flesh". After savouring the EP, it's fair to say that CALLOUS HANDS make the unnerving bite of a foaming-at-the-mouth, rabies-riddled dog feel like a mere nip. These guys are brutal.

The underground is a place so criminally overlooked - and rarely explored the way it deserves - that it hurts the soul to know that its treasures are mostly left unearthed. It harbours some incredible talent, so much so, that metalheads with more of an affinity for a taste of the mainstream, would be pleasantly surprised that there is plenty of bands lurking below the surface that they'd love in equal measure, if not more. CALLOUS HANDS is exactly one of those hidden gems and really should be on your radar. The band can be likened to a mixture of LAMB OF GOD, MACHINE HEAD and MALEVOLENCE, so there is no excuse not to at least treat your ears to this especially filthy stylistic and taste just how dirty the underground goes.

"Trapped in Animated Flesh" offers no reprieve over the course of its splitting five-track opus, ensuring rabid tempos, crushing dynamics, and snarling vocals take you on a caustic journey of spitting, hard-nosed metal that sonically beats you to a pulp. Prepare to be mullered.