You would be hard pressed to not get excited about Lucid Shift’s debut EP, Aonaran. But be warned, this release isn’t for the fainthearted. Incredibly heavy guitars, thundering rhythms, and formidable vocals are so powerful they’re likely to shake the very bowels of hell.

Guitarist Andy Wilkinson and drummer Guy Higginson from the now disbanded band Lebowski formed Lucid Shift in 2019 with vocalist Harlem Hall and bass player Dave Van Eerden, unchaining a dangerous beast you need to watch out for.

Harlem’s vitriolic brilliance rightfully dominates the mix during opening track Fractured State, also released as a single earlier this year. Lucid Shift isn’t your everyday conventional hardcore metal band. Instead, they cross-pollinate their arrangements with a number of different metal styles to formulate a new flavour of unique heaviness.

Still Void's melancholic intro evokes a sense of bleak dystopia while its lyrics convey some confronting subject matter. At times slightly reminiscent of deathcore juggernauts Black Tongue, Lucid Shift covers all the bases, from slow melodic doom-like passages to speed metal flourishes that are especially conducive to getting the mosh pit slamming.

Wasted Flesh starts off with a slow and pondering intro that soon turns into a feast of technical proficiency. Guest vocalist Brodie Graham from Honest Crooks delivers a performance that makes you want to growl along with his otherworldly sibilance, which combined with Andy’s outstanding guitar work makes for a commanding performance.

Rotten King picks up the pace with a more straightforward industrial edge. Harlem’s sinister singing on this track is similar to Dani Filth’s unique and compelling vocal style. The guitar's tonal quality and double bass drum polyrhythms during the bridge also remind me somewhat of Meshuggah’s groundbreaking and often imitated technique.

At times bordering on speed metal, my pick for the standout is the well-arranged and executed track, Staggered, mainly because of its crowd-pleasing pace. The evocative vocals with extended enunciation match the composition perfectly. These four guys from Christchurch are all reading from the same page and musically it really shows.

It’s difficult to not get swept along with the unbridled power of Throat Ripper, which starts out with a more conventional intro but soon runs the full gamut of metal musical styles. There’s even some nice Gojira-type riffs thrown in for good measure.

Lucid Shift has retained the raw and resolute energy their fans have come to love and appreciate during their live performances on this dangerously good EP. Canadian producer Ty Kingston has enhanced these six tracks nicely, but there’s a synergy of musicality throughout that cannot be easily improved upon during postproduction.

Aonaran hits a home run and perfectly conveys a sense of foreboding, which is an essential element of all great metal music. Make sure you catch their EP or the band at a venue near you.

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