A 5-piece beckoning from Brisbane, Apate have come out with a monster EP in “RAGE”.
This is an angry, aggressive release. Coming straight out of a short intro with slow chugging, harsh vocals, down tuned guitars and heavy drumming building up tension and a sense of unease, the opening track “Under My Skin” only serves to build on these feelings. This is a brilliant song, hooking you in with the perfect mix of filthy breakdowns and nerve-wracking guitars, and I think it completely encapsulates the feeling of “RAGE”.
This continues in the next couple of tracks, “Flesh Feeder” and “Gasoline Anthem”. “Flesh Feeder” is my choice pick out of “RAGE”. I feel it’s the most versatile song, with its fast but still groovy verses, chunky chugging and on-edge guitars. Apate really knows how to bring out emotion in a song, and all the way through to the end of “Gasoline Album”, you can just feel the hatred emanating out through the vocals and lyrics.
We then start to slow down a little, with “Liar’s Tongue” providing a bit of relief from the anger of the opening half. That’s not to say it’s bad at all, quite the opposite, with the melancholic feeling throughout the song giving a great balance, especially with the catchy chorus.
“Dancing On The Razor’s Edge” feels like it’s sitting on the precipice, bouncing between the aggressive, chuggy riffs found earlier in the EP and the more mellow, sad ones in the previous track. It does this well though, building up to the next track, “Shinigami”.
This is the heaviest track without a doubt, with slow breakdowns galore, off-putting guitars, thick riffs and angry, manic screams. “Shinigami” is a dirty, violent song, giving the impression that the band has lost control and snapped, that something bad is about to happen. I love it.
Finally the last song, “Pallor Mortis”, closes out this EP brilliantly. Bringing back the groovy, chuggy breakdowns from the start of the album, you can’t help but wanna move to it.
It ends abruptly with a slow, almost paranoid chugging with an eerie lead part over the top, and rounds this EP off well.
Apate has a done a great job with “RAGE”, and I genuinely look forward to what they create in the future.
If you’re a fan of heavy hardcore/metalcore and/or enjoy nu-metal style guitar work, you will love this EP.
- Full Of Rage
- Under My Skin
- Flesh Feeder
- Gasoline Anthem
- Liar’s Tongue
- Dancing On The Razor’s Edge
- Shinigami
- Pallor Mortis
Apate: Facebook
Release Year: 2021
Label: self-released
Category: EP
Country: Australia
Reviewed by Gerard May
