Duhkha emerged in 2021 with a self-titled EP that served as a brief but explosive introduction, blurring the lines between hardcore, metalcore, mathcore, and everything in between. With members who had spent time in bands like Eighteen Visions, Graf Orlock, Teeth, and Seizures the barely controlled chaos and darker atmosphere of Duhkha felt like a natural direction, and these elements have been expanded upon on their debut full-length A Place You Can’t Come Back From. Focusing on explosive riffing that moves between faster blasts and chugging grooves while still providing some time for the band to pause and let some darker melodies take over, this is an album that’s likely to invoke nostalgia for listeners who have spent time with metalcore around the turn of the century. Yet there’s still plenty here that pushes Duhkha towards an identify of their own, making this an exciting effort from a band worth putting on your radar.
Stylistically A Place You Can’t Come Back From owes quite a bit to Coalesce, which is apparent pretty early on as opener “Ictal” has a similar push and pull to the instrumentation as the drums stop and start frequently, moving from bottom heavy grooves to faster attacks with ease. There’s a density to Duhkha’s sound that makes their approach instantly appealing to anyone that cut their teeth on metalcore and metallic hardcore in the late 90s to early-2000s, as you can feel the weight between each drum hit and the darker tones of the guitar and bass contribute a sense of bleakness. Early on I was also reminded of bands like The Handshake Murders alongside some of the other metalcore bands in the mid-2000s that had some sludgy, atmospheric pauses in between the sheer bludgeoning on display, and the way that these types of melodies seep in on songs like “Echo Theft” makes them more impactful. It’s definitely a familiar approach, but Duhkha does it exceptionally well and the way that each song comes together before unleashing a massive breakdown at the listener feels different each time rather than falling into a stereotypical pattern. There are highlights throughout, with “Arrows” and “Echo Theft” standing out early on while “Dweller on the Threshold” and “Revelator” showcase that there’s no second half slump. The only complaint I do have is that closer “null” is overstretched as just shy of eight minutes, which does result in a few lulls. But there’s so much that stands out about A Place You Can’t Come Back From’s heavy hitting riffs and darker atmosphere that this is a minor complaint, and I’ve hit the repeat button frequently since that first time through.
Vocalist Cameron Miller hits just as hard as the rest of the band, and while he doesn’t quite have the same raspy pitch as Coalesce’s Sean Ingram there’s a similar cadence to his screams and growls. He typically starts off at a lower growl that towers over top of the band, but there are some higher screams that get added into the mix to shake things up. I particularly like some of the slightly cleaner ranges that appear on songs like “Defecting Our Vanished Light” and bring just a bit more hardcore into the mix, as it brings a lot of early 2000s music to mind. There’s a consistent intensity to Miller’s performance, and Duhkha smartly gives him space on many of the songs to avoid things from becoming repetitive on the vocal front. A Place You Can’t Come Back From also brings in a few guests, with Eighteen Visions’ James Hart and Trevor Friedrich appearing on “Arrows” and “A Crisis Area Forever” respectively. These guest inclusions are pretty cool as they bring things back to some of the heavier moments from Eighteen Visions and give Duhkha just a bit more variety on the vocal front.
The closing track may run for just a bit too long and it does feel like there is even more room for this band to build upon their ideas in the future, but this is still a fantastic effort and must listen for anyone that likes metalcore and hardcore. Duhkha captures the push and pull, bleaker tonality, and sheer heaviness that these genres built themselves on in the late-90s and early-2000s, but they manage to do it in a way that feels relevant in 2024. Whether it’s the dense breakdowns, rhythmic variety, or just the sheer force, there’s plenty to like about this full length and I can’t wait to hear where this band will go in the future. A Place You Can’t Come Back From is available from Good Fight Music.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg