Will Haven – “Open The Mind To Discomfort” [EP] [Album Review]

I remember seeing Will Haven in the sweaty confines of the Barfly in London many years ago. It was so hot that night that the band needed oxygen as they came off stage. It was one of the most unforgettable gigs of my life. Well, here we are in 2015 and, even with the band producing one of the finest albums of their career in 2011’s Voir Dire, following their return from a self-enforced hiatus, the Sacramento band still remain something of a nasty little secret amongst the metal scene.

Well, thankfully, that hasn’t stopped the band from doing precisely what it is that has made them such a special act in the first place. Open The Mind To Discomfort is the kind of brutal, suffocating blast of sludgy hardcore that you’ve come to expect from this group. Uncomfortable to listen to, tracks like “Hermit” are smashed out with terrifying precision as frontman Grady Avenall howls out his lyrics over the top of a crushing wall of guitars.

With little room to breathe, Open The Mind To Discomfort may only be twenty four minutes long but, by the time the final unholy moments have squeezed the last ounce of energy out of you, you’ll be glad of the chance for a respite. Incredible stuff from a band who deserve so much more recognition than they have had to date.

Track Listing:

01. A
02. Soul Leach
03. Do You Have A Light
04. B
05. Hermit
06. C
07. The Comet
08. D
09. POP 14

Run Time: 23:22
Release Date: May 18, 2015

Check out the song “The Comet” here.