EP Review: Mastiff – For All the Dead Dreams (Church Road Records)

Carl Fisher 2 min read

Kingston Upon Hull’s premier misery merchants Mastiff are back and bringing the noise with their brand-new EP, and Church Road Records label debut, ‘For All the Dead Dreams’. Out on October 24th, 2025.

As extreme as always, but with a bit more beatdown to their name, Mastiff’s new EP leans heavily and aggressively towards the hardcore scene, and with that comes some of the nastiest, ugliest, and angriest music the band has put out to date. Which, considering how much noise comes from this band all the time, should have you sweating all over. Is it excitement or fear though?

It’s a riffy start with Soliloquy, Mastiff showing just how easily their filthy and harsh sound can be given an injection of two-step energy and suddenly, it’s downright anthemic. In a fucked up way, of course. Expect a black eye or two when this one gets aired live. Although, every single track here has the potential to leave you broken and bruised.

 

 

There’s Rotting Blossoms, which is a fast-paced head banger with scathing vocals, right up the end when the groove hits and that hardcore edge comes out to play again. Then along comes Decimated Graves, which steps away from the hardcore stylings of the EP and sees the band throwback to an earlier form of crusted heaviness. The doomy end is filth, and like me, I think you’ll love it.

The unrelenting nature of the EP, Mastiff unwilling to allow the listener to take any kind of breath, means A Story Behind Every Light hits harder than most. Although that could also be because of the story behind it, the garish death metal feel it has, and the gurn-inducing breakdowns that it delivers. This isn’t just the best track on the EP, it’s one of Mastiff’s best written tracks to date.

How do you top that? They can’t, and that is fine because the finale of Corporeal kicks a ton of ass, regardless. Furiously fast, mean and mugging, severely intense, it’s a vicious finish. A punch to the side of the head that leaves you seeing stars.

What do you expect? Puppy dogs and fucking rainbows? It’s Mastiff and you know what they say about misery, right?

Mastiff – For All the Dead Dreams Track Listing:

1. Soliloquy
2. Rotting Blossoms
3. Decimated Graves
4. A Story Behind Every Light
5. Corporeal




Links

LinkTree | Facebook | Instagram

Author

  • Owner/Administrator/Editor/Writer/Interviewer/YouTuber - you name it, I do it. I love gaming, horror movies, and all forms of heavy metal and rock. I'm also a Discworld super-fan and love talking all things Terry Pratchett. Do you wanna party? It's party time!
Mastiff - For All the Dead Dreams (Church Road Records)
  • The Final Score - 9.5/10
    9.5/10
9.5/10
Sending
User Review
0/10 (0 votes)