REVIEW: Crown Magnetar – Punishment [EP/2025]
Artist: Crown Magnetar
Album: Punishment – EP
There is an increasing amount of discourse (everyone’s favorite word) surrounding the state of deathcore in the mid 2020’s. On one hand, the “MySpace revival” movement is going as strong as ever—arguably just as strong as it was in the “good ol’ days”—with a robust mixture of bands essentially re-creating a given hit record and bands emulating the sound and style while making something a little different. On the other hand, the genre’s “contemporary” cohort continues to boom, finding new ways to send the genre’s roots prying deeper and deeper into the extreme.
But there is also a just-as-important, but much less-discussed third group, including—and maybe even led by—Crown Magnetar. Emerging at around the same time the “revival-core” movement began to gain traction, Crown Magnetar gained rapid notoriety for combining the technical extremes of deathcore’s new school and the gritty, permeating sense of evil (oh, and also huge breakdowns) from some time between 2006 and 2010. Since their inception, Crown Magnetar have continued to hone this delicate dynamic into a keen, sharp blade—one that slices away at the listener without discretion or remorse on their latest EP, Punishment. If Everything Bleeds was the band exploring the use of atmosphere, death-djent and groove-heavy segments to augment their immolating brand of deathcore, Punishment is the pendulum swinging back to pure ignorance. Short, but sinister beyond its runtime, Punishment is a master class in deathcore from a band rapidly and rightfully earning a spot as prodigal champions of the genre.
Crown Magnetar are nothing if not masters of blending technicality and outright aggression. Punishment favors embludgeonment over laceration, with songs like “Nailed the Fuck Down” doing…well, exactly what the title implies. Mach-speed percussion trades off with sonic strife in the sound of hyper-dissonant chugs, especially on “Bringer of Dead Light” and the aforementioned “Nailed the Fuck Down.” “Barbed Wire Noose” is another excellent example of eviscerating instrumentation, with lightning like percussion underscoring low, blistering riffs that continue the band’s trend of moderate influence from slamming death metal—a la deathcore’s early years—but in a way that incorporates progressive elements and enough bounce to level a house. There is little in the way of true variety in the atmosphere put forth on Punishment—the EP has a singular goal that it accomplishes handily: to maim and dismember the listener.
While Crown Magnetar’s instrumentation is consistently top-notch—especially the band’s immense percussion and how well it works with sludgy bass and shredding guitar—their vocal element is second to none. Punishment is another chapter in frontman Dan Tucker’s monstrous legacy, as he continues to shy away from the overt reliance on vocal gymnastics and simply uses a strong range and immolating intonation to reduce the listener to a blistered pulp. “Nailed the Fuck Down” again shines—as does the entirety of the EP—at highlighting Tucker’s talents, as he works beautifully with his sonic soundscape to create a cohesive deathcore anthem. Meanwhile, “Decapitation Ritual” serves as another of Tucker’s successes, where his ability to project near-tangible bitterness and hatred into each syllable is undeniable.
Punishment is a short release—a true extended play in the traditional sense of the term, coming off of the success that was Everything Bleeds—but that doesn’t mean it should be discounted. It is a stellar blending of Deathcore’s past and present to create a compelling argument for its future, crafted with a pointed purpose—Punishment, plain and simple.
9.5/10
For Fans Of: Bodysnatcher, PSYCHO-FRAME, Whitechapel, Ingested
By: Connor Welsh
