“All I want right now is death!”

The opening line from first track Past Material is a punch to the gut and sets the tone for Greyhaven’s new EP, Stereo Grief.  

Greyhaven (hailing from Louisville, Kentucky) follows 2018’s Empty Blackand 2022’s This Bright and Beautiful World with this excellent five song EP, their first release on Solid State Records.  Teaming up again with producer Will Putney, Greyhaven is firing on all cylinders.

With a contrast of aggressive verses and a melodic, catchy chorus, Past Material has something to offer for all fans of the post-hardcore and metalcore genres.  Vocalist Brent Mills sounds great and not a second is wasted as there are riffs aplenty and transitions throughout the song that keep the listener guessing.

Confined Collapse has a similar structure to Past Material with aggressive verses and a catchy chorus, but the highlight of this song is the mini-breakdown and frenzy of the final twenty seconds with the memorable lyrics “Oh, I’m ripped from this world/Without conscious, without blame/Finding new ways to fall apart/Finding new ways to fall apart.”

At the EP’s midpoint is the incredible lead single The Welcome Party.  This track takes everything the band does and throws it in a blender.  The clean vocals at times are reminiscent of Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter, The Receiving End of Sirens) and fans of the late Every Time I Die should absolutely eat this up. While the guitar riffs are unique and memorable, drummer Ethan Spray’s double bass is the highlight of this track.  Lyrically, this is a song that many people should find solace in with lines such as “And the lesson here, don’t run from fear”and “There’s more to life if I can ever make it right.”

The chorus of Sick and Lavish is incredibly strong and an earworm that is sure to stick with listeners long afterward.  “Another great fight/I’m caught on both sides/I left my body behind/To start a new life again/And I will be there with you soon.”  It does not sound too dissimilar to a chorus that Thrice would write and a song like this that straddles the alternative rock fence is capable of winning over plenty of new fans.

The closer, An Inverse Self-Reflection, has a bridge that rivals any in heavy music in recent years with the lyric “Structured belly of the beast/You are encased and then released/Devouring endlessly it feasts/It’s billowing up again” which practically begs to be screamed to a room full of sweaty fans. 

This release should push Greyhaven to the forefront of the post-hardcore and metalcore genres and fans would be remiss to skip them the next time they come to town. While many of these songs have a darkness to them, Greyhaven’s future is nothing but bright.  

Rating: 9/10

Tracklisting:

1) Past Material

2) Confined Collapse

3) The Welcome Party

4) Sick and Lavish

5) An Inverse Self-Reflection

Reviewed by Andrew Bachna