MTXS – “Ache” [Album Review]

You know that moment when you’re at a show, there’s a bunch of bands on the bill that you haven’t heard of, and you decide to give one of them a shot? Ever had that experience where one of those bands sets up, gets ready, and then explodes onto the stage, chugging into a part so heavy that all you can do is pull a screw face while you rock your body to and fro?

Listening to the debut album Ache (merch and other pre-order options here) by UK-born MTXS is basically just that. Ten tracks of chugging doom, organised into breakdown after face-melting breakdown. It’s a blown kiss to the heaviest parts of bands ranging from The Acacia Strain, Code Orange, and Slipknot. It’s a gamble in this day and age to stay rooted in that kind of heavy, without kicking through to different gears, to get away from the mistake of sounding monotonous. Somehow though, MTXS don’t bother with that, and even more interesting, they don’t once feel like a chore to listen through. They’re able to stay in the dirge-slow to mid-tempo range most of the album, and provide what feels like a variety of intense parts and pit-worthy pandemonium.

A press shot of the five, pissed off rageaholics in MTXS:

Opener “Mould” kicks off the album with a perfect spectrum of the kind of depths the group are willing to sink, either in tempo, savagery, or content. What follows is a platter of shred-heavy and blast-beating assaults on the senses. It’s a worthy album for any fan of the new wave of hardcore and anyone else who just loves to throw themselves (or others) around in mosh pits.

If heavy is the currency these guys are going for, they’re already rich. Share the wealth.

Ache Track Listing:

01. Mould
02. Traits
03. Strain
04. Bad Blood
05. Burn The Baron
06. Choked
07. Silver Skin
08. Ache
09. Liberation
10. Plague

Run Time: 24:48
Release Date: June 7, 2019
Record Label: Self-Release

Oh, you want to hear the heavy? How about you feel it instead? This is the “HGV” music video: