EP Review: Melting – A Pathetic Excuse For A Life (Greyscale Records)

Melbourne’s metal outfit, Melting will release their sophomore EP, A Pathetic Excuse For A Life, on Friday 29th May via Greyscale Records.

Melting are one of the newer names emerging from Melbourne’s thriving heavy music scene, but they are already making plenty of noise with their vicious blend of metallic hardcore, sludge and death metal intensity. Formed by vocalist Xavier Morris alongside guitarist Alex Bertuna, bassist Tom Kuyper and drummer Johnny Foti, the band have quickly built a reputation for short bursts of sonic violence, crushing breakdowns and an uncompromising sound that feels both raw and calculated in equal measure.

Over the past couple of years, Melting have gained attention through singles such as Modern Human Ritual, 874 and Into The Suffer, while also landing support slots alongside notable Australian heavy acts including Thornhill and Alpha Wolf. Their debut EP, You Exist Because We Allow It, further established the band as one to watch in the current wave of Australian extremity, leading to a signing with Greyscale Records and putting more eyes firmly on what comes next.

Now, Melting return with their latest release, A Pathetic Excuse for a Life, a new record that looks set to continue the band’s trajectory with more of the violent aggression, suffocating atmosphere and hostile energy they are becoming known for.

The band states:

“This first year of You Exist Because We Allow It has been absolutely nuts. It’s hard to put into words how full on it has been. All we know is that we are so grateful to have done all the things we have already done in such a short period of time. Camp Melting is firing on all cylinders, and that’s a nice feeling, especially with so much coming up!”

A Pathetic Excuse For A Life comes with 6 tracks on starting with God Driven Fear and if you don’t know anything about Melting going into it, you will be the time it ends. A short song, at 90 seconds long, but it starts brutally, and stays brutal throughout delivering an absolute barrage of aggression and intensity to start before settling into a bit of a groove. Metallic riffs, big roars and shouts and intense drums shake you to your core as Melting announce themselves with passion. Glare comes next and is the lead single here on A Pathetic Excuse For A Life

Glare shows the depth of Melting and why they should transcend normal metallic hardcore boundaries with a song written lyrically before they formed, and dealing with the serious topic of the long-lasting psychological impact of abuse, tracing the lingering trauma and paranoia that can persist even after distancing.

Vocalist Xavier Morris explains:

“I’ve witnessed it in the lives of those closest to me, and I’ve experienced it myself. An all consuming fear that can be instilled by the most heinous of acts, down to a simple glare.”

For us, we get a riotous track that packs a punch. It’s heavy and energetic with huge riffs, drums and decent hardcore vocals, so plenty of shouts and strained screams. I like the backing vocals as well – they are used nicely to add emphasis and depth. It will definitely please the two-step generation but for us headbangers and moshers, there is still plenty here for us. There is an underlying groove that keeps the momentum flowing and keeps your head moving that I appreciate a lot. That, along with the constantly forward-moving feel of the track, the transitions and the different vocal styles, keeps you interested and engaged throughout.

The Sword is a banger as well. Coming in at just over a minute long, it doesn’t mess about. Just a minute of wicked riffs, drums, bouncy rhythms and groove. It hits hard, then it is gone, but it leaves a lasting impression. A Pathetic Excuse For A Life continues with Arrogant Fool. Before I get started, those guitar squeals in the intro are really cool. Stylistically, this song delivers what we are coming to expect from Melting in that it is heavy, metallic and subtly crosses genre boundaries between deathcore, hardcore and groove to keep them firmly within the sound of this era. What Melting do particularly well though is really show off creative flair.

Whether it is in little squeals on a guitar, a change up in vocal styles to singing, bassy sections, superb drum patterns or an ever-shifting tempo, you won’t lose interest and will find moments to uncover on repeated listens too. The next track is awkwardly called “…” which makes it a bit of a nightmare to write up in a review. It is only 43 seconds long and is actually an extended intro to the final track and title track, A Pathetic Excuse For A Life.

Why that couldn’t just be part of an overall fifth track, I don’t really understand. Especially in modern times where so many people listen to music through streaming and shuffles, it just means that “…” will often get ignored and skipped or will play and then lead into a different track in the shuffle. Anyway, I digress – back to the track. A Pathetic Excuse For A Life is a really cool song bringing all of the styles and skills displayed so far together for a statement track that delivers groove, aggression and energy in spades. Changing vocals, diverting tempos, standout drums, guitars and vocals all come together for a memorable close, though the fade-out is probably a touch longer than it needs to be.

Melting might fit comfortably into the current wave of metallic hardcore and deathcore crossover bands stylistically, but what helps A Pathetic Excuse For A Life stand out is the amount of groove and personality packed into these short bursts of aggression. The heaviness is undeniable, but it is the little creative touches, shifting tempos, vocal variety and underlying bounce that stop the EP from becoming one dimensional. It leaves a strong impression and shows plenty of potential for where Melting can go next.

Track List:

1 – God Driven Fear 1:37
2 – Glare 3:46
3 – The Sword 1:06
4 – Arrogant Fool 3:20
5 – … 0:43
6 – A Pathetic Excuse for a Life 3:41

Melting Links

Bandcamp | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Spotify