REVIEW: Martyrs Saint - From Strength To Strength
- Julia Stark
- Jun 30
- 2 min read
Engraving their furious sound into the underground hardcore scene, MARTYRS SAINT are now ready to step from the shadows and unleash their epic debut EP From Strength To Strength. Hailing from Bristol, the four-piece band have created an EP that has a quality and weight of 20 artists performing together. It’s a marker of how seamless they’ve become as a unit and the force they feed into their sound to portray such power and intensity that translates to their live shows.
While From Strength To Strength only holds four tracks, they pack an absolute suckerpunch that will leave you reeling, demonstrating the efforts MARTYRS SAINT have put into refining the more intricate details and solos while still maintaining the absolutely delightful chaos of hardcore tangled with thrash-metal. It’s an EP of frenzied energy, scorching solos and hooks, and rhythmic elements woven together, driven by pulsating beats and savage lyrics.
Title track From Strength To Strength immediately goes off-piste with a soundbite of Peter Griffin giggling that he's stronger than air, before Louie Hawkes’ drums thunder in with an accompanying riff that swings wildly from piercing notes to a stank face rattling level that welcomes chaos in the form of Brandon Goodair’s scathing lyrics and barks, the rhythm slowing imperceptibly as the instruments attack in formation for the building breakdown of Goodair’s screams “I'll face my front, you fucking face yours”.
Enemy Of My Enemy whips in at rocket-speeds, the pulsing drums racing against Amaré Hurley’s frenetic riffs and Harvey Lewis's bassline, the type of bass chords that churn your stomach and rattle your teeth. Blistering screams give way to a staccato run of individual instrumental licks, before they all merge together into a frantic breakdown with classic metal guitar solos from Hurley, the tempo refusing to be anything but fired up, until it culminates in a final yell and fades out.
In Amber begins with a more thoughtful and sombre guitar riff, the atmosphere rising to soaring heights with epic guitar notes that eventually give way to a haunting pitch, the drums and vocals falling in together in a reserved cadence. The deceiving sense of calm is shattered as Goodair descends into visceral screams and the entire rhythm drops into a searing melody, Lewis branding the track with his bassline, until everything changes up and chases pace to the MARTYRS SAINT speed we're accustomed to. It weaves between classic metal and post-hardcore for something that transcends time.
The Divine Art Of War feels exactly like sprinting across the battlefield and screaming in the face of the enemy, guitar solos reaching stinging pitches that sound like falling bombs. The band attack the rhythms together, Lewis and Hurley flanking Hawkes' shattering drumbeats with their fired up riffs and hooks, as Goodair leads the charge with screams of “motherfucker”, the feel of the track shifting between prog-metal reminiscent of METALLICA and elements of post-hardcore that tear at you with sharp teeth. MARTYRS SAINT bite with full force and dare you to get free from their electrifying sound.
Score: 8/10
From Strength To Strength will be released on 3rd July 2026 via Imperative PR.
Words: Julia Stark
Photos: Martyrs Saint
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