Album Review: Bastions - Island Living

Bastions are brutal. Their latest EP, ‘Island Living’, refuses to break with this tradition: they effectively combine the raw throat vocals of Gallows with the stand-out riffs of hardcore veterans Converge, whilst opposing the sheen on their peers' shiny production. It’s most definitely hardcore for hardcore fans.

The title track serves as a fitting introduction to the EP, as Jamie Burne screams such emotionally-driven lyrics as “You drag me down” over riff after relentless riff. The remaining two tracks reflect the first in intensity, allowing for a brief lull in the darkly epic ‘The Great Unwashed’, which sees the band slow the tempo of the EP without losing their power.