If you’re feeling frustrated every time you open your eyes each morning, well, get in fucking line because it’s long and you’re going to be there a while. It’s a particularly aggravating time to be alive, the past eight months a real low point, and being able to just torch something to release that pent-up anger can be a productive outlet.

Motherless sure as shit sounds like an outlet to get things out of their systems. The band—vocalist/guitarist Stavros Giannopoulos, guitarist/vocalist Anthony Cwan, bassist Alex Klein, drummer Gary Naples—pours vitriol and fire into “Do You Feel Safe?” their destructive debut full-length album. Over eight tracks and almost 34 minutes, this sludgy, driving madness grows to a boil quickly and stays spewing chaos the entire goddamn time. This group comprised of members of the Atlas Moth, Novembers Doom, and Without Waves, and they collect their might and punish like there’s no tomorrow.

“Reptile Dysfunction” is a sludgy beast that blasts out of the gates, acidic howls punishing as the bass trudges. The intensity builds from there, threatening and pouring fuel on an already raging fire. “Abrupt Violence” keeps the attack alive, the playing scarring as the intensity remains on high. “I’ve lost my confidence in man, strike down false prophets where they stand,” Giannopoulos wails, the guitars bleeding metallic blood, a pulverizing fury leaving bodies heaving. “You Seem So Damn Sure” fires up, bass chugging, a smoldering D beat barrage taking you down for raw fists to the face. Screams peel rust from metal, a stirring, blurring attack adding to your disorientation, a clip from Jake “the Snake” Roberts from Wrestlemania VI adding to your wounds. “Darling, You Don’t Look Well” starts eerily before guitars start to churn and stretch, a thick haziness hanging overhead. Lead then scuff and leave patches of sunburn, a trucking, thrashy assault barreling full speed ahead before it corrodes.

“Weaponized Goodwill” hammers the gas pedal, the howls kill, and a melodic swath adds some soothing to your blisters. The playing then clubs harder, wails retch, and everything boils to an oddly atmospheric end. “Christian Math” belts you in the face, barked wails making a blunt impression, Giannopoulos howling, “Go set it on fire, for your survival, a new hell awaits, but it won’t suppress my strength.” Parts of this are oddly approachable while others pull you into the frenzy, stomping through mud before a blurry finish. “Insect Politics” squeezes veins, throaty howls gutting, a vicious and scathing campaign designed to lop off heads. Guitars angle into rubbery, confounding terrain, mean snarling smothering ash in mouths. Closer “The New Romance” starts off feeling like a more aggressive At the Drive In track at first blush, but then it leans into raw force and energy, the drums blasting holes in your chest. Things grow rowdier as fiery soloing launches, Giannopoulos barking, “I’ll be swinging all the way down until I’m 6 feet underground.”

“Do You Feel Safe?” is a motherfucker of a record, a ravaging, bloodthirsty trip through personal and societal turmoil that plague us all. Motherless found an outlet for themselves to release that frustration, and perhaps spending time with these eight songs can do the same for you. There’s no glamor here, no gimmicks, just a burst of metallic power that refuses to adhere to musical boundaries and beats the fucking shit out of you. 

For more on the band, go here: https://motherlesschicago.bandcamp.com/

To buy the album, go here: https://shop.prostheticrecords.com/

For more on the label, go here: https://prostheticrecords.com/