From its opening bone crunching guitars, ‘Sacrilege’ steps up with a depth and a confidence.

While it could all too easily be metal by numbers, simply going through the motions like so many metal bands do, Stockholm based Mudpusher brings together a blend of female vocals with gutsy male screams. By the track’s midpoint in particular, the guttural screams are deep and dark, with a tone that is fresh and impassioned. Released as a single, ‘Sacrilege’ is a short taster of what Mudpusher are capable of, and bears all the hallmarks of a band with the potential to pull off a weighty and engaging full album. Thankfully for now, the single is accompanied with another track, ‘World Destroyer’. It’s similarly frenetic, with splintering math-metal guitars, earthy screams that bristle and burn in the mix that are contrasted in texture by Kimberly Nordqvist’s feminine yet brooding vocals. The track feels as though it is imploding under its own weight – in a good way – by the end, with the harmonics of the guitars and the kick drum pummeling away like a power supply going out of control, trying desperately to hold itself together but ultimately giving in to its inevitable demise.
Listen to ‘Sacrilege’ here