Bleghhtooven’s Album of the Month: Left to Suffer - ‘Feral’

For months I had been looking forward to March of this year eagerly anticipating all the fantastic releases that were set for release that month. While my attention was all in on March, May was secretly shaping up to be just as phenomenal. May saw metalcore darlings Currents release The Death We Seek, a perfect follow up to 2020’s The Way It Ends. Veil of Maya released their first album in nearly 6 years, [m]other, and I would wait another 6 years if that's what it takes to get something so fantastic. Soulkeeper swept me off my feet with their debut Holy Design (you can read more about this remarkable band in my artist spotlight here). May also gave us superb releases from Sleep Token, Unearth, The Amity Affliction, The Used, The Acacia Strain, and In Fear, but for me there was one album which stood head and shoulders above all the rest, and that is Feral by Left to Suffer.

Left to Suffer’s aptly named Feral wastes no time in delivering what is without doubt one of the most insane records to have been released thus far this year. An album teeming with such blistering aggression should come with a safety warning. Rapid-fire screaming, deep guttural growls, and breakdowns so heavy they create their own gravitational pull are all par for the course when it comes to Left to Suffer, but what surprised me the most was the melodic sensibilities showcased in tracks such as “Feral”, and especially on the album closer, “Consistent Suffering”. These moments add an entire new dimension to one of the most intriguing bands coming out of the deathcore scene in years. With a short runtime of barely 25 minutes Feral left me begging for more, and something tells me we will be seeing a lot more from Left to Suffer in the coming years.