The Hallowed Catharsis keep technical death metal progressive by keeping it unpredictable. The Vancouver quintet has been singing about aliens and space since their 2013 inception. However, this title track from upcoming EP Killowner exhibits the influence musically.
Flurries of high-pitched notes and harmonics break up the chugging and grooves. The skronky yet chunky collision recalls an extraterrestrial Dying Fetus. “Killowner” closes with a riff as catchy as cacophonic, closer to Vader in its direct delivery and mindset.
Vocalist Sean Ip weighs into the song and its place in the EP’s sci-fi tale.
“The title track from Killowner is the final song and pinnacle of the album, and definitely feels like the most vicious song we have right now. Like sputtering lava threatening eruption, this is the moment when the album really comes to a boil.
“Killowner tells the desperate and savage story of an unwilling pet nearing the end of her useful life on an extraterrestrial world. Follow our hero through a desolate history, mandatory mutations, unsated loneliness, and finally, a brief moment of respite before her alien masters summarily put an end to her misery.”
Experience the closing chapter of the six-song saga in the player below.
The Killowner EP is out June 2 via Lacerated Enemy Records. You can pre-order it on CD, with T-shirt and hoodie add-ons, via Bandcamp or Big Cartel.
