Here we have the 5th EP from York, Pennsylvania rapper Mikahl Lawless. Introducing himself in the summer of 2019 off his debut EP Pen to Paper, he would go on to follow it up with Overture for the Ill & Broken Hearted as well as 13 & Kisses to Nowhere until Cody Manson made him a member of his Trife Life collective. Cody eventually introduced Mikahl to Scum, impressing The Gorefather enough to give him his own deal with Lyrikal Snuff Productionz & introduce himself as part of the roster on Gangri-La. Commemorating the 1-year anniversary of The Snuff Gremlin later this weekend, he’s ending LSP’s year by releasing Cult.
“Ash” starts with a trap metal intro talking about what‘s left of him being blackened whereas “Cold Snow” blends this cloudy backdrop & live drumming telling how he’s feeling on the inside. “Ghost” reaches the halfway point by throwing it back to LINKIN PARK’s earlier output while the title track embraces a synth-pop vibe singing to bleed out beside him. “Prey” shifts back in nu metal turf comparing himself amongst the hunted & the same can be said regarding the outro “In Absence”, singing about him wishing he found nothing.
Many of the previews sounded nothing like Gangri-La & The Snuff Gremlin whatsoever, which gave me the impression of Mikahl Lawless venturing out artistically throughout the duration of Cult & he does it well enough to the point where I can confidently say that it could be the boldest musical statement he’s ever made. The production’s more versatile exploring trap metal, nu metal & synthpop in addition to the horrorcore lyrics being primarily sung as opposed to rapped.
Score: 8/10