Album Review: Dungeon Crawl - Maze Controller
Reviewed by Sam Jones
It’s nice to encounter bands you’ve never heard of before with interesting premises or themes when they’re about to throw out a new record. This instance we have Dungeon Crawl, formed in 2015 and hailing from California, United States, and what seems to immediately separate these guys from a plethora of thrash metal is their adoration for all things dungeons and dragons (hence their name inspiration) and that concept oozes into their album titles too. Unleashing their first album in 2021 with Roll For Your Life, Dungeon Crawl quickly showed their fanbase this love of the tabletop game was no mere shallow pastime but something that would be a crucial backbone to their identity. Another three years on and a signing on to Carbonized Records, Dungeon Crawl return with their second full length work titled Maze Controller prepped for a September 20th release date. Knowing the band’s niche take on thrash I was mighty curious to see how this concept would be integrated into their songwriting and so, I was primed to dive headfirst into Dungeon Crawl’s latest release.
The blindingly apparent thing that makes Dungeon Crawl stand out from the tank and file of typical thrash metal is the additional neoclassical element they infuse their songwriting with. Listening to them play you’re experiencing something with much more grandeur than what thrash usually typifies itself with, though their songwriting is precisely what you’ve come to expect from thrash metal it’s the extra components the band throw into their soundscape that really helps elevate the air presence from something we’ve heard a thousand times before, to something genuinely unique. That neoclassical edge they exhibit really helps differentiate them from everyone else as while the band utilise string quartet and orchestra elements, it’s not used in a vain effort to distract their audience away from otherwise subpar instrumental playing, which Maze Controller is overflowing with in quality. The actual riffs and performance the band show us is exemplary and always keeps you on edge for what they might do next, yet that classical vibe that’s always in the background aids the band in deepening how immersed you are within their record.
Speaking of which I think it’s all the more impressive the band can have such a busy thrash album and ensure their primary instrumentation and vocals are still the thorough focus that fans can tune into, and not be overwhelmed by the neoclassicism on display. This could very easily have been a muddled and unnecessarily sporadic sounding record in the mix where the two differing elements are at odds with each other, but Dungeon Crawl really put in the work to ensure their audience can experience each side of their soundscape equally, separately, yet in tandem so we don’t need to tune out of one aspect to enjoy the other. The way the band managed to fuse the two juxtaposing soundscapes together and render it into a cohesive onslaught that allows you to appreciate the riffs and orchestra respectively is nothing short of incredible. Considering this is only Dungeon Crawl’s second album it demonstrates their keen sense of mixing to bring such differing ideas together and then jut them out as if they couldn’t ever be seen as individual pieces.
One theme that benefits Dungeon Crawl is the overarching dungeons and dragons vibe that permeates this record from start to finish. This isn’t a novel idea by any stretch as we’ve seen this idea adapted to numerous power or folk metal records, yet few are the number of thrash albums that have tried this approach. Everything from the neoclassical element to song titles to even the band’s sense of dress cements their philosophy towards this niche yet beloved pastime. You really get a sense that you’re at the whim of a benign dungeon master where all things are possible after the throw of a dice, and yet while you yourself might never have partaken in this game everyone has an idea of what it’s about so you know you could just dive headlong into their songwriting understand there’s a fun time awaiting you. The band themselves don’t hold back either; remove the classical element, remove the dungeons and dragons element, and this would still be a riveting thrash record owing to how powerfully their riffs and drums come at you. Other than an ambient piece that acts to give audiences a breather, the record itself hardly stops for a moment as guitar work comes at you from every angle. I also believe Dungeon Crawl capture a near-perfect guitar tone for what modern thrash can demonstrate for it is ripping and slicing in every moment but you always feel the weight of what’s being thrown at you, no doubt amplified by the record’s bass and equally so exhibited in the drumming too. In addition I’m glad to say these guys clearly know how to play for their soloing is amongst the best I’ve heard in thrash for some time; granted many bands shy away from solos due to them being viewed as vainglorious showmanship but it will always activate the lizard brain within me when I hear a wickedly played guitar solo.
Maze Controller is an especially clean sounding record and, whilst many are sometimes put off by a record that’s been polished to the nth degree, it aids the band greatly in this instance since their songwriting can therefore hit us like a train without any additional hindrance. Since the record has been wiped of any muddied impurities or such throughout the mixing process it gives us an absolutely unadulterated view of what this album can offer us. It gives Dungeon Crawl every reason to unload everything they have upon us knowing that their performance isn’t going to lose any ounce of energy or vitality from the mixing process to our discovering it on album. Take the drums for example, they’re not doing anything you haven’t heard before but they strike and come down here as if the weight of the world is relying on them, and the tempo which they deliver is always on the rise at times. This is the strange paradox of this record; we’ve encountered faster thrash albums then this beforehand but you’ll always feel like you’re barely hanging on for your life as your fingertips slowly lose grip but you’ve got just enough grip to acknowledge the raw strength Maze Controller plays with. But then you get songwriting where the pacing is much more broken up especially throughout a longer track like “Lords Of Pen And Paper”, where the tempo is steadier and really enables the band to open up their songwriting to allow for more developed songwriting sequences. This is one such example of the band’s killer understanding of track progression whilst still delivering the power and ferocity we want to hear.
In conclusion, Dungeon Crawl are on to an absolute winner with Maze Controller. It’s easily one of the top thrash albums of the year and it’ll take something mighty over these next three months for another thrash album to come close to this; only a very select few records this year top this opus and those are amongst the cream of the crop. The band have managed to combine the sensibilities of a Dungeons And Dragons experience with the ruthlessness of a fast paced thrash attack and I’m amazed just how well those two ideas meld together, especially when you take into consideration the neoclassical element the band fuse with their songwriting all the way through and how this record never feels like it’s competing with itself for what kind of soundscape the audience should desire more. It’s impressive how big this record manages to feel without it feeling over-bloated; you get the impression early on that the band have a lot to show you but its scope never feels so daunting that you don’t want to first dive in to its world. The band showcase what they’re made of a little more at a time with each succeeding track and that honestly helps more than anything with easing us into this huge vista; throw in the polished mix that allows every sequence the band to play to come at us with zero difficulty and Dungeon Crawl are onto something here. I absolutely adored this record and am more than excited to see it fully release come September 20th, one that will raise many eyebrows.
