How does one keep the pummeling from becoming predictable? It’s a rarely mentioned challenge for bands whose main aspect of their identity is a penchant for heaviness. For Dead Register, it’s easy to assume that their answer is doubling down on all that crushing weight and volume. This is after all, a band who bolster their mutated goth doom with about as many bass sounds and elements as they can reasonably utilize in a trio. Still, there’s more to the band than the mesmerizing low end.

The group’s latest single from their upcoming Captive EP, a cover of West Coast punks Dead & Gone’s “Blood from a Ghost,” is a convenient example of their ability to mine metal, punk, and noise rock without losing focus, and it all goes to show that even if the desired result is a messy stew of darkness, you still have to get the ingredients right. Even though the original is one of Dead & Gone’s more droning tracks, it channels a disturbingly unhinged energy. Dead Register expand on the malaise with a deeper angst that hits hard and relishes in the misery of existence.

It’s disconcerting how the dry vocals cut through the pummeling bass lines, the coarse annunciation locking the track into some bizarrely radio-friendly territory before tossing the listener into the void. It’s not scientifically proven, but any band that can stay true to the original energy of a cover song while weaving it into their own universe usually have what it takes to write killer originals, as anyone who’s heard the band’s 2016 LP Fiber can already attest to. More importantly, “Blood From a Ghost” demonstrates there’s a keen self-awareness in the darkness of Dead Register.

The Captive EP is out Nov. 2.

Dead Register will celebrate the release of Captive at the Captive Art Party on Sat., Nov. 10 at the Bakery. Also performing will be Dear Woodland Creatures (Release Show). Photographer Emily Harris will curate an artists’ gallery and market. Doors open at 7 p.m.

More Info
Bandcamp: deadregister.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @deadregister
Instagram: @dead_register
SoundCloud: @deadregister