REVIEW: Trapped in Animated Flesh - a statement EP from Callous Hands

Callous Hands have been doing well lately. After a busy 2022 that saw them play on the New Blood Stage at Bloodstock, they've prepared themselves for 2023 by getting the next release ready to go. Recorded by Neil Hudson from Krysthla, they've teased it out over the past months with a stream of videos. It's due out tomorrow and they'll be celebrating it at the Tap N' Tumbler in Nottingham next Friday with Kensei and Mantis Defeats Jaguar.

I see them pushing everything that they do well musically out into bigger and better directions on this release. Earth Mover was a sign of things to come, but the melodies are much bigger this time around and there's a progressive streak that has really come into its own.

For the sake of transparency, it's not a secret that I work with Callous Hands behind the scenes. This EP, though, is all on them, the work of five musicians hammering songs out and grafting the music out relentlessly in their practice space.

Callous Hands - The Great Unknown (live at Bloodstock 2022)

The EP kicks off with The Cycle Remains, with an acoustic guitar and piano intro giving a Blackening-era Machine Head vibe. It sets the scene in an epic way, slowly getting more creepy and dissonant, giving you a glimpse at the aural assault to come. The first chuggy groove packs some serious power, with some nice guitar ambience over the top to give it a modern touch. After a melodeath-inspired verse, the band comfortably change the groove into a triplet feel that always reminds me of the best bits of Lamb of God.

Clearly, there's a big 00s groove metal influence on this track, but rather than being a carbon copy of what many bands have done before them, Callous Hands really know how to take the best bits of the genre and make it into their own and it's no more apparent than over this track. It's pretty progressive and jumps from riff to riff, but still sounds focussed and concentrated. The riffs and grooves are ace and Adam does a great job navigating through the different drum rhythms on this track. It's a strong indication of what the band is really capable of and for me, it's hard to argue against it being the best song they've ever done.

How do you follow a song like that? Suffocate is next, with riffs that have an interesting phrasing, not quite following a straight 4/4 beat. It's cool to hear Honcho's bass tone more prominently in this song, as the riffs climb up and down, while Jim and Eddy make the best of some interesting chord voicings on the guitar to give it a touch of melody. The breakdown at the end is super ugly and my favourite part of the song, with pick scrapes, diminished chugs and guitar squeals. The simple tom pattern on the drums gives it a very primal feel, making it more aggressive and pounding, like each note is beating you to a bloody pulp. The bursts of guitar shred are cool too - it's a much more direct punch to the throat than Cycle, but still progressive in its own way.

The Great Unknown comes next. A soft melodic guitar intro from Jim sets the scene, while Kieran leads in the track with some 'woah's. Not quite clean singing, but no less intense than before, his pitched screams are a great example of his vocal range can do. It's a clever way of making the track anthemic, without falling into the trap of using sugary vocals to drive a massive chorus, which wouldn't be true to what Callous Hands are really about. Otherwise, its thrashy verses, use of blastbeats, and filthy breakdowns keep it nasty. They really straddle the heavy-melodic divide well on this track. With such a powerful refrain it's understandable why this has been played live for some time now and why they chose it for a music video, released a few weeks ago. (Watch it and you might spot someone familiar running through the woods...)

Title track Trapped is a pretty direct groove metal number with more shades of Machine Head. A spidery guitar riff leads into a big groove that barely lets down in intensity for its quick runtime. It's got some nice guitar harmonies and once again Callous Hands switch up the groove into a dirty triplet feel that'll set off plenty of moshpits. It adds that progressive flair once again, though the change in time really is well executed and doesn't feel jaunty or forced at all. The shrieked vocals sound demonic at times - it's a nice, direct rager and has a big replay-ability factor.

Finally, the doomy intro to Fractured Worlds begins to see the EP come to a close. An epic conclusion to proceedings, it eventually launches into some nasty death metal riffing that goes straight for the jugular. Kieran's high screams are excellent and Adam has a cool drum pattern underneath that goes under the radar if you're not paying attention to it. This song has all sorts, from At the Gates-inspired riffs, a big guitar solo and a breakdown to ignite a sea of violent moshes. Adam lets loose on the drums whenever the intro chord sequence is brought back, free to switch up the rhythms or bring in some cool fills to keep the song living and breathing. Finally, a distant, wailing guitar lead closes the EP. It makes this outro feel more like an epilogue than just 'the end of a song'.

Compared to previous releases Callous Hands definitely sound more epic, with ambitious songwriting and well-executed pitched vocals across the more melodic parts. Bands like Lamb of God and Machine Head definitely come to mind as influences, but they very much do their own thing, with plenty of hardcore and melodic death metal running through the EP. It's the slightly progressive touch that really makes them stand out.

If you enjoyed metal in the 00s then this is a great example of how a band can still sound cutting edge within this style. Callous Hands have really raised the bar and released a defining, statement EP.

Great work, lads.

FFO Lamb of God, Malevolence, Machine Head

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MN