My excitement and appetite for the cutting edge of brutality in the world of Extreme Metal as diminished severely with time. Most bands I encounter seem to be locked in the Post-Deathcore and Djent overlay which tends to recycle the same ideas found at their origins. Alongside a Metalcore backbone, some of that bore is to be found here too with with a shimmering of Mathcore in places also. The reason I mention this is because Knocked Loose have spun that formula into a short and pacey affair of pummeling intensity. On this EP, six tracks blaze through the many tropes and un-original ideas common to the genre on the heels of an adrenaline shot of excitement. Their song structures continually race ahead, leaping from one moment of bludgeoning to the next, leaving you with little time to recover from each metallic blow. Its a fun experience as the chops come quick and fast, rarely looping back and often jumping into sludgy palm muted break downs with barely a moments notice.
The production is stellar, a show of strength, an aesthetic treat of modem engineering that has its instruments frothing with a rage shared by front-man Bryan Garris. Initially I found his shrill, high pitched bark a bit rash but I warmed up to it as his energy fell inline with the unrelenting march of aggression the band set out on with these songs. Not only do the instruments bring intensity, the moments of texture embellished in its discordant riffs take up the pauses for breath with expansive moments of tense atmosphere as on occasion the music blossoms into something more than the meat grinder it initially seems to be. With quite a few spins in the past weeks, A Tear In The Fabric Of Life is a short experience that's delivered much gusto as its rapid approach brings continual waves of excitement that last the initial explosive impression created.
Rating: 6/10