Mental Cruelty are a death metal band from Germany. Formed in 2016, they have just released their new album A Hill to Die Upon in May. The band enlisted producer Sky Van Hoff (Kreator, Rammstein) to work with them on the album. This results in an album that is full of brutal riffs and pummeling deathcore action. It has you on the edge of your seat throughout.

On hearing this album, even though the deathcore influences are still present, there are also orchestral arrangements. You notice this on ‘Ultima Hypocritica’ which is the first song to introduce these elements. And it works. There is everything on here, catchy riffs, disgusting screams, and huge strings which would suit a battle scene.  

‘Eternal Worship’ is another song that shows the band’s versatility because it contains some filthy vocals, and the instrumentation is heavy. The orchestral bits work very well, however one criticism is that there’s no space in the mix, so the sounds are a bit muffled.

Overall, A Hill to Die Upon is an album packed with brutality and fierce instrumentation. It shows that their sound is very diverse, and is a solid listen.

Words by Ermis Madikopoulos