The UK’s Realityfade Records has a knack for digging up and releasing some pretty cool and interesting oddities in the brutal death metal/slam/deathcore realm (MDMA, Omni Express, Esophagus, etc.), and if you’re in the market for odd, one need look no further than the label’s latest find, Mines of Moria, who unleash a wicked salvo of JRR Tolkien-inspired deathcore on their debut EP Khazad-Dum.
One would expect Tolkien and deathcore to go together about as well as Disneyland and pornography, but somehow, some way, against all odds, Mines of Moria pull it off in spades for the duration of this tightly written nineteen minute EP. But how do they do it? In the case of Khazad-Dum, it’s all in the songwriting; Mines of Moria wisely choose to incorporate elements from outside the world of deathcore to create a singular atmosphere. The symphonic flourishes that punctuate both the title track and “S.H.E.L.O.B.” sound like they could’ve been lifted directly from the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.
On the deathcore side of things, Mines of Moria are plenty crushing, but they add a level of technicality that gives the listener a reprieve from the pummeling beatdowns that typify the genre. The high level of musicianship lends the EP a somewhat stately aura more befitting of Tolkien and also serves to set the band apart from the deathcore hordes. Indeed, Khazad-Dum is a heavy and brutal release, but it also possesses a level of refinement and thoughtfulness that places the band a cut above the rest in terms of both songcraft and performance.
With their debut EP, Mines of Moria present a unique, refreshing and above all fun take on deathcore that should be on any fan of the genre’s listening radar as the 2022 release schedule starts heating up. There’s an awful lot to like about Khazad-Dum and one can only hope that Mines of Moria move to even more fully integrate the cinematic elements with the deathcore elements on future releases, until they eventually morph into the deathcore version of Summoning; that would fucking rule.
THKD 