While most bands use the EP format to experiment or soften their edges, Kingston upon Hull’s Mastiff has opted for total demolition with ‘For All the Dead Dreams’. Arriving just 18 months after the strongly acclaimed ‘Deprecipice’ (2024, APF Records), this 15-minute barrage of sludge-ridden torture proves that the « grimy diamond » of the UK underground has only grown more lethal.
Recorded by Joe Clayton (Pijn, PUPIL SLICER) and mastered by Brad Boatright, this short record marked the first collaboration with Church Road Records (home of bands such as Burner, Giant Walker, Outlander, Svalbard or Wren) and sees the quintet distilling their signature « Grind-Sludge Molotov Cocktail » into its most concentrated form, delivering a relentless crossover of powerviolence and hardcore that pairs All Pigs Must Die x Nails-esque volatility with Gatecreeper x Trap Them-level weight.
From the visceral, « shit-filled grave » imagery of Jim Hodge’s most abrasive vocal performance to date to the scathing socio-political critiques found in the groove-infested « Decimated Graves, » Mastiff has crafted a masterclass in sonic deprivation. In a landscape often cluttered with over-polished production, they remain a force of nature—conducting a frenzied tornado of gloom and despair that doesn’t just build on their previous foundations, but levels them entirely.
This is Mastiff at their most unapologetic, daring the listener to endure a relentless streak of grim musicality that sets a new, terrifying standard for modern extremity.
