Maul – In the Jaws of Bereavement (Review)

This is the second album from US death metal band Maul.

I confess I had unreasonably high expectations for this one going in. I really enjoyed 2022’s Seraphic Punishment, in that deeply satisfying way that only quality death metal can give you. Now that the 39 minutes of In the Jaws of Bereavement has arrived with the force of a gigantic hammer, have my expectations been met?

That’s a big fat yes.

If you’re not familiar with Maul then apart from my review of their last album, I’ll quote the promo which says this is for fans Sanguisugabogg, Phobophilic, Fulci, Scorched, Wharflurch, Kruelty, Terminal Nation, Obituary, and Gatecreeper. It’s a fine list, which should outline where In the Jaws of Bereavement is coming from.

One of the things I loved about Seraphic Punishment was the singer’s absolutely monstrous growls. In a sea of decent death metal singers he stood out with a voice that you can’t just hear, but also feel, and very nearly taste. I have no idea how he makes the noises he makes. Honestly, the man’s probably not human with these sorts of growls. Love it.

Another thing that was notable was Maul’s penchant for a damn good riff. In the Jaws of Bereavement has its own weapons locker of the humongous things too, but this time around they’re made all the more potent by the judicious use of winding melody and macabre atmosphere, deployed in key places. Maul boast three guitarists on this new record, and there is enough meaningful work for them all.

All of this is strong enough in its own right, but skilfully worked into the crushing death metal is a hardcore edge that is designed to magnify the music’s effects in the live environment. The good thing about this though is that it largely exists within a grisly death metal framework, allowing Maul to have their cake and devour it.

I should also note that there is a healthy doom component to parts of the album too. In this sense it’s part death/doom and, especially in conjunction with the melodies, part Bolt Thrower. Add a sprinkling of thrash, and you have a lot of things going on, just not all at once.

Tying it all together is intelligent songwriting that delights in caveman violence that’s surprisingly expressive. You have to be quite good at what you’re doing to create an album like this. There’s simple, direct brutality, but also a lot more nuance, mood-building, and atmosphere than you’d expect. This manifests across the songs in a variety of ways and places, making for an album that has a distinct sound, but that also has songs that are well-differentiated against each other. Each track has its own personality within the whole, adopting different facets of Maul’s sound to a greater or lesser extent, as required, to get the job done.

In the Jaws of Bereavement offers us a vision of ferocious death metal, but with a dynamism born of hardcore fury, and an emotional underpinning of raging darkness. Maul continue to be a really enjoyable and rewarding band to listen to, and I urge you to check out this album as soon as you can if you’re a fan of this sort of well-constructed death metal heaviness.