Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

Stage name Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh, teenage sisters CJ, Maggie and Lulu from Jacksonville, Florida have carved something of a niche out for themselves as an all-girl metalcore trio (or beautycore as they call it) proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ in no holds barred fashion. Despite the gory face-melting cover and the facetious title, the horror referenced here is more to do with how scary life can be rather than anything to do with Halloween and the girls cover a range of subjects that affect youngsters today hence tracks from this EP getting heavy rotation on the xRhythms playlist. For instance, the opener "Give Me A Sign" urges the listener to open up and ask for help whilst "The Other Side" and "Never Again" deal with how people make you feel and having the strength and confidence to be yourself in life. Elsewhere, "RIP" is a self-explanatory onslaught aimed at the group's haters whilst "Can You Promise Me That This Will Never End" tells of the restorative power of Jesus. As well as the life-affirming messages found in their songs, what makes GFM's work stand out is the crispness and immediacy of their sound and the relentless thundering performance that showcases each member's hardcore musical skills with 15 year old Lulu's ferocious drumming and the impressively deep guttural screams from bassist Maggie being of particular note.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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