REVIEW: Under Auburn Skies - Diminisher Of Hope

Serving up a portion of Denver metalcore comes UNDER AUBURN SKIES, the latest of a long line of Colorado-based core acts - with their upcoming EP, Diminisher Of Hope, all but upon us. Drawing heavily on the sounds of bands like POLARIS and MAKE THEM SUFFER, the EP treads the thin line between relatively straight-forward melodic metalcore and the more complex aggressive end of the genre, to forge an end project that manages to have fingers in both pies.

Across five songs and a small intro, the act show off the breadth of their current ability - going from the slow and ominous introductory moments on First Blood, we’re first properly introduced on World-Eater with a technical riff underpinning a colossal set of vocals. With moments of calm interspersed by some deathcore-influenced heaviness, the band aren’t messing around here.

The Pale King opens with a brief space of melody before we’re crushed by the weight of the guitars turning up to 11. With chugging guitars and pummelling drums, there’s no room for any relaxing by this point on the EP. Gravemind and Dathomir continue in the same vein, with technicality and heaviness going hand-in-hand with the occasional break to gasp for air amongst ominous breakdowns. Finally, bringing up the rear comes the longest track on the record, Final Sin, and with its eerie beginning running into a multi-guitar riff in the vein of proper mid-2000’s metalcore it makes for a very fitting finale.

This EP is a great effort from a band who are dominating their local scene, and whilst its relative homogeny could be improved upon it is still a commanding release that showcases an incredibly technical act, with bags of potential. If UNDER AUBURN SKIES can go even better on the next release, there’s no telling where it could take them.

Score: 6/10

Diminisher Of Hope will be released on July 17th 2026.

Words: Jasmine Longhurst

Photos: Gustavo Diaz