Melting “A Pathetic Excuse For A Life” Album Review
If you’ve ever wondered what a demolition derby sounds like translated into sound, look no further than ‘A Pathetic Excuse For A Life' the new EP from Melbourne-based metal band, Melting. This new release is bone-crushingly heavy, but also sets a scene of death and despair, something that we know that metalheads love.
Melting took everything they learned from their first EP and made it heavier. They’ve sharpened things while still making it unapologetically brutal. ‘A Pathetic Excuse For A Life' is filled with the type of tracks that people leave the pit to because they know it’s about to go down.
From the moment the feedback rings out on ‘God Driven Fear’, Melting makes their intentions clear, they're here for a good time, not a long time. They knew exactly what they were doing and set the scene for what was to be an ass‑beating next 12 minutes. The next track on the EP is lead single ‘Glare’, which really showed the heavy world what to expect. Huge vocals that tear through you, massive mosh parts, and one of the most perfectly timed two‑step sections I have ever heard.
The fun doesn’t stop there, as the next track, ‘The Sword’ is as short as it is punishing. Clocking in at just 1:06, this track makes you feel all types of things. Crushing guitars combined with absolutely relentless drumming from Johnny Foti drive this track. One of my favourite lyrics on the EP comes on this track as lead vocalist Xavier Morris screams, “Don’t forget your place, beneath me.” Which is very fitting in this case, as I’m sure it will be tough to be above this EP as one of my favourites for 2026.
‘Arrogant Fool’ serves up a plethora of sounds, from blast‑beating circle pit sections to huge vocal runs, all tied together by some savage riffage from guitarist Alex Bertuna. Those riffs get that extra oomph thanks to some sludgy bass playing from Logan Gill.
‘…’ is a well‑timed interlude track that serves as a palate cleanser before the band jump into the title track, ‘A Pathetic Excuse for a Life’. With not much left to prove, the band go all in. To put it bluntly, this track is heavy as hell. It demands to be played loud, and I’m very sure it was designed to cause chaos and suffering in any local mosh pit.
This EP has a sense that every riff, every breakdown and every scream is trying to rip a hole in the Earth. There’s a real sense of purpose behind this EP, like Melting knew exactly how crushing they wanted it to sound, and decided to amplify that by 10. It’s more aggressive, but also pushed to a whole new level. ‘A Pathetic Excuse For A Life’ feels like urban collapse soundtracked by breakdowns, simple and effective. Melting have now dropped back-to-back standout EPs, and have a very bright future. If you get the chance to see them live, do not miss it. But first, listen to this EP and try not to punch holes in the wall while you do.
