Let’s talk about the latest offering from Singapore’s Doldrey. These guys have been reliably churning out some of the filthiest sonic devastation in the underground, and their EP, ‘Only Death Is Eternal’, issued via Pulverised Records, keeps that bleeding streak alive. For the uninitiated, Doldrey specializes in a lethal fusion of Swedish Death Metal and raw Crust Punk, delivering a buzzsaw-driven attack akin to bands like Entombed, Mammoth Grinder, and Bastard Priest.
What hits you right off the bat is the massive, suffocating production. Recorded at Dungeon 416, the guitar tone crafted by Raf is a masterclass in classic HM-2 filth, grimy, subterranean, and loaded with top-end bite without losing its low-end heft. Rather than getting lost in a muddy soup, Dan’s distorted bass sits right beneath the guitars, locking into a monolithic rhythm section. Farhan’s drumming technique is the engine driving this entire beast. He doesn’t just lean blindly on standard beats; instead, he navigates seamlessly between charging Thrash Metal cadences and neck-snapping, mid-tempo grooves that give the tracks a real sense of momentum. Over this instrumental storm, Aidil delivers a superb vocal performance, utilizing a cavernous, low-end roar that sounds less like a standard studio delivery and more like a warning bellowed from a damp concrete bunker.
Looking at the release holistically, the songwriting values physical momentum over flashy technicality. Take a track like ‘Moral Decay’, which perfectly illustrates their dynamic control, starting with a blistering Crust Punk sprint before downshifting into a staggering Sludge/Death Metal dirge. The title track, ‘Only Death Is Eternal’, showcases their knack for crafting primitive yet fiercely memorable hooks where the transition between frantic tremolo picking and heavy, mid-paced chugs feels entirely natural. If there is a minor flaw to point out, it is that the band stays strictly within their established stylistic wheelhouse, offering very little in the way of structural subversion or avant-garde experimentation. It is a formula they have mastered, but listeners hoping for a radical departure might find it a bit predictable. Still, when the execution is this punishing and the atmosphere is so thoroughly drenched in rot, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
It’s an absolute ripper of an EP that demands to be spun at maximum volume. Take a sip of your beer, hunt down the 12-inch vinyl or cassette, and let it destroy your speakers.
