Mental Cruelty – A Hill to Die Upon

• Country: Germany
• Style: Blackened deathcore
• Label: Unique Leader Records
• Release date: 28 May 2021

Mental Cruelty’s third album is where the German band stopped being just another brutal deathcore act. A Hill to Die Upon pulls in big symphonic black metal arrangements, and the orchestration is not window dressing, it drives the songs.

“Ultima Hypocrita”, the first full song after the intro “Avgang”, sets the tone, all blast beats and grand choirs, with a guest solo from Yo Onityan of Rings of Saturn. “King ov Fire” and the title track are just as massive, while “The Left Hand Path” closes things on an epic, almost cinematic note. The breakdowns are still here and they still hit like a truck.

Ten tracks, no filler worth complaining about. A brutal, ambitious record.

Best tracks:

Ultima Hypocrita
King ov Fire
A Hill to Die Upon
The Left Hand Path

Author’s rating: 8.3/10