Review MAUL “In The Jaws of Bereavement”

Maul is a band from Fargo, North Dakota. Formed in 2017, the guys released their first full-length longplayer “Seraphic Punishment” in 2022 after putting out several singles, EPs, and split releases.

“In Jaws of Bereavement” is the band’s sophomore output, and it’s brute death metal that challenges speakers and eardrums, not to mention neck muscles, as headbanging is unavoidable after dropping the needle.

It’s the title track that opens the album and what you get is raw death metal. Fans of bands like Sanguisugabogg and Six Feet Under but also Obituary will surely appreciate what they get here. Maul don’t push the pedal to the metal. There are some moments when the guys shift gears, but the general tempo is slower and more moderate. But this doesn’t affect the aggressiveness of these ten songs.

Maul don’t flirt with mainstream and commercial appeal. The six-piece band is fully committed to extreme metal and songs like the rogue “Spontaneous Stigmata” are musical wrecking balls.

If you think that the sinister acoustic intro of “An Alluring Deceit” will give you a moment to take a deep breath, you’re wrong. A vicious riff quickly pulls you out of your dreams and the journey through the realms of death metal continues. With each song you listen to, it’s the slower pace of each of these tracks that crawls into your subconscious with each riff leaving its mark.

“In the Jaws of Bereavement” offers brutal death metal that may not be too innovative, but still unfolds its impact from start to finish. Headbanging is guaranteed while listening to these morbid songs that spread the eerie scent of swampy soil.