EP Review: Death By Fungi – Die In Bombay

Death By Fungi formed in 2013, over the last half dozen years they have a released a handful of EP’s and splits over which they have refined their own take on hardcore punk, one that incorporates elements of melodic hardcore, skatepunk, powerviolence, d-beat and mathcore, the end result being a chaotic, frantic and outspoken style of contemporary technical aggressive hardcore. The lyrical content however is purely about life in Bombay, a huge metropolis that’s engulfed by class and religious divide and polluted by an atmosphere of violence.

Die In Bombay‘s title track starts with brutal riffing and just gets more intense, raw and brutal as it progresses, from the opening track it’s clear that Death By Fungi have impressively blended modern technical melodic hardcore with raw brutality of hardcore’s roots, Guilt And Admission follows in the impressive opening wake and shifts in style by incorporating d-beat into the mix, the result is a track that builds to a gloriously discordant end. Ingrates is straight up brutal hardcore, two minutes of full on power passion and rage, before the technical chaos of the closing track, Attrition. Death By Fungi, along with fellow countrymen False Flag, Shepherd, Dirge and Pacifist, Nepal’s Neck Deep In Filth and Pakistan’s Dead Bhuttos, have all made their mark on the burgeoning punk scene of the South Asian subcontinent, these bands, among others, play an important role in understanding a region that’s torn apart by religious violence, casteism and fascism.

Death By Fungi have released an EP of original raw hardcore, but it’s also one that’s no stranger to the technical and melodic side of the genre, punk bands have always reflected the society that created them, and India is no exception as Death By Fungi address the inequalities and injustice that are prevalent in their society, if anyone ever asks why punk is important then this EP would be a good answer to that question. The Die In Bombay EP launches digitally on the 5th of August and will be followed by a tour across India in support of their latest release.

The Die In Bombay EP can be pre-ordered via Bandcamp here

Death By Fungi can be found on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud and Twitter