RORONOAH: ACCUSTOMED TO HURT EP REVIEW
- Kirsty Shepherd
- Jul 30
- 5 min read
Brisbane deathcore five-piece roronoah has released their debut four track EP "accustomed to hurt". “Heavy, emotional, and unrelenting, Accustomed to Hurt delivers four tracks that dig deep into themes of trauma, silence, addiction, and control. Blending crushing breakdowns, dissonant textures, and raw vocals.” - Roronoah
Now, I have reviewed "a vice like no other" from this ep before, you can read the full breakdown here. I have made it known on several occasions now that I think this band has ridiculous potential and this EP just solidifies that fact to me, with any of these songs having the potential to be on a world stage along the likes of Lorna shore, whitechapel or suicide silence.
song one will find you listening to "you love it". The track begins with Something metallic being dragged along concrete, fast and unsettled breathing with throat singing in the background before throwing you right into the chaos. “This is your early grave, this is your own decision.” If you are into scaling riffs, drums that will devour you whole, chunky bass lines, filthy and twisting drops with a wide display
of vocal range, this is the song for you. “You love it, you hate it, you love it, you hate it.” The theatre of this song is coupled with feminine scaling vocals, off putting laughter, layered vocals that make it feel almost like a memory taunting you and an underlying piano and string section create an atmosphere that will have you drawn in and held from the very beginning. "save yourself."
“I wrote the lyrics in mind to give me a break from screaming my lungs out when we play live” - Kalani weeks
second song is "hush", which was previously released as a single in February this year and successfully reached their number one
played slot. This song hits the ground running! you are introduced with a softer fifteen second instrumental section before being thrown to the ground with no warning or care. “Quiet as a mouse, I don’t want to even hear another f**king word.” There is a Mostly steady rhythm throughout the song, before it switches to haunting guitars building rapidly to the breakdown and the climax of the song. Kalani is doing the absolute most vocally throughout this song, gutturals, fry, tunnels, goblin noises, rapid singing and everything in between. “There’s no escape, Run from your demon, offer
your pound of flesh." I am going to level with you; while listening to this song on repeat to
write my notes and get quotes I had a slight mental break about how good this song is, technically, the production and the story telling, it is a masterpiece, and I don't throw that word around lightly. “We won’t be waking up in the morning.”
“Vocally though hush really kicks my ass” - Kalani weeks
Third on the list is the second released single "a vice like no other". I am going to quote myself here, because I don't think I could pick a better way to describe this song than I already have. "the first time listening to this song there was something that had me feeling unnerved but I couldn't figure out what it was, until my third play through when I finally figured out what it was. the use of the piano in this song, while almost too subtle to notice in the beginning, is such a driving force to bring in a misplaced beauty that feels so wrong, but so right at the same time."
the twenty second instrumental opening to the song immediately sets the tone for where they are going to take, and demonstrates that throughout with relentless and heavy guitars, unforgiving drums and a face melting vocal perfomance.
'Speak to release, Lie to me, Lie to me, Lie to me, Lie to me, I am not okay, This is what You have been forced to see, Chemical dependency, In my head, In my head, In my head, In my head, I’m not alone, The screaming, The voices, Beckon me to return Home.'
"'a vice like no other' left me feeling like I had been in a push pit of my own mind, with no escape, fighting to stay on my feet and searching for something to numb it all. this feeling I think can be perfectly summed up in a single line of lyrics, "This is the only escape from the pain"."
Last but definitely not least is "tyrant theory." FROM THE VERY BEGINNING THE urgency in the Piano and Orchestral music enters to build tension with a feeling of desperation, almost
as if a swarm of bees circled over head before being thrown right into chunky guitars, unrelenting drums and a vocal whirlwind. “Taking the high road but drown in the fun.” Throughout this EP there is an Eerie female voice layering in the background, and while beautiful and ethereal it holds pressure in a way that I don't think the songs would have without it. This song contains a Face melting and punchy break down, hitting syllables of “tyrant theory” on time with drum bursts and chugging guitar notes. “What will you do when the mask comes undone.”
“I think for sure Tyrant theory has ended up being the song that took the longest to write and is by far the hardest for the rest of the boys to play” - Kalani Weeks
So my final thoughts on this EP, the boys of roronoah should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved. There is not an aspect of any of these songs that don't make sense, seem misplaced or ill timed. Jude is an absolute weapon on that drum kit and having heard them on recording and in a live environment, Ryan, Joshua and Corie work together in a way that sounds like they have been performing together as a triplet in the industry for thirty years; and finally, Kalani has a massive vocal range, which he utilises in a way that is well thought out to each piece of music and how it will come across while performing in a live situation. I was won over the first time I heard roronoah but now I am a dedicated fan who cannot wait to see where this powerhouse goes.
YOU CAN BUY TICKETS FOR THE ACCUSTOMED TO HURT EAST COAST TOUR AT THE LINK BELOW:
I recently had the privilege to see roronoah perform in Toowoomba and you can read how the night went here.
for fans of: fit for an autopsy, shadow of intent, whitechapel, lorna shore and thy art is murder
10/10
