_{Review by Cerrin Hendricks (@panicpreacher)}

Rising Australian metal upstarts Melting have just released their sophomore EP A Pathetic Excuse For A Life, following up on 2025’s extremely well received You Only Exist Because We Allow You To.  

Upon starting the opening track ‘God Driven Fear‘ we are immediately greeted by a familiar wall of feedback in a similar fashion to their previous EP, but this gives way to a level of wrath that honestly leaves one taken aback. The opening blasting section, complete with a chainsaw-like guitar tone moves on to a groove that keeps slowing down dramatically as the song continues. The harsh vocals add to the onslaught, somehow containing more vitriol than ever before and The mix has a weight to it that compliments the heavy grooves. The rhythm section in particular, manned by drummer Johnny Foti and bassist Tom Kuyper, make this track stand out.

‘Glare‘, the first single, follows this up with riffage reminiscent of Converge, Nails and END, all of which are clearly more of an influence than before. The vocals especially have that same nails on chalk quality whilst somehow retaining enough clarity to set it apart from their peers and influences. Once again the drums are the highlight, seamlessly incorporating groove after groove to create a sense of momentum that drives the song forward under the catchy yet grinding guitar work. Instead of shifting tempo ever downward like the previous track the song chooses to follow a more coherent structure with short genre-bending bursts. The ending’s anthemic pulse will have crowds headbanging and pumping their fists.  

The powerviolence roots are confirmed once again with the second single ‘The Sword‘, a short and furious mid-tempo track that keeps pummelling as the vocals spit venom. This song is built for multiple back to back listens. The absolute fury combined with the decision to leave out an obvious breakdown cements the more straight up metallic nature of the record, as opposed to the metalcore structure of their previous record.

‘Arrogant Fool‘, the second longest track of the EP gives even more surprises as vocalist Xavier Morris shows off his range, rapidly switching from melodic metal vocals to gutturals, back to his signature virulent screaming. Alex Bertuna’s evolution as a guitarist is on full display, creating a dark atmosphere that helps this track stand out. The decision to move further into a metal soundscape has paid off extremely well and this track is definitely going to be a fan favourite. The clean backing guitars right at the end of the track help transition into the extremely short track … with pitched down spoken vocals leaning into the eerie atmosphere. It feels like an unused outro that could have worked with the previous track but was so strong that it had to have its own time to shine.

This brings us to the title track ‘A Pathetic Excuse For A Life‘, which clearly shows their progression from a noisy metalcore outfit into a metal powerhouse, mixing some of their old style whilst remaining firmly in the darker atmosphere of their newer songs. The outro is chill-inducing, feeling like it almost belongs on a funeral doom record. The inclusion of subtle yet powerful piano stabs are completely unexpected, and confirms the genius of this short-lived EP. 

Clocking in at only 14 minutes and 13 seconds, A Pathetic Excuse For A Life somehow outdoes Melting’s previous effort by adding carefully selected atmospheric elements and a more mature approach to writing to their brand of feedback and noise filled metal. A must-listen for fans of well-crafted and heavy-hitting songs that don’t overstay their welcome.

10/10

_{A Pathetic Excuse For A Life drops this Friday the 29th of May via Greyscale Records
Presave/Stream here.}