heavy-metal-darkness: Old Deer | Someone In The House

Sunday, December 14, 2025

Old Deer | Someone In The House | Self Release

Release Date: November 7^th, 2025
Format: Digital/CD
Genre: Noise Rock, Mathcore, Sludge Metal, Hardcore
Country: USA

Old Deer is a four piece from Denver, Colorado, active in the U.S. underground heavy scene since the early 2020s. After making noise with the 2024 EP “Something In The Water”, the band moved quickly toward a broader and harsher sound, shaped by noise rock, mathcore, sludge metal and hardcore traditions.

Old Deer returns with their debut full length “Someone In The House”, an album built around tension, instability and a constant sense of threat. The album circles around unease rather than release, pushing jagged rhythms, abrasive textures and sudden shifts that keep the listener alert. This is aggressive music that prefers anxiety over comfort, closer to controlled chaos than brute force.

The writing pulls from several heavy directions without settling into one lane. Sludge and doom tones sink into mathcore patterns, while noise rock abrasion and post hardcore urgency sit right at the surface. Tracks like “The Hatch” and “Take It All” underline this approach, switching pace and pressure often, with little interest in easing the listener into what comes next.

Vocally, Matt Conlee is a major factor in how the album works. His harsh delivery cuts through the mix with raw intensity, then drops into darker melodic lines that add another layer of tension instead of relief. The instruments mirror this behavior, bouncing between hardcore impact and tangled, almost jazz informed movement, giving the record an unstable and restless character.

“Someone In The House” does not aim for comfort or accessibility, and that choice defines its impact. The album stretches its ideas across a long running time, sometimes pushing patience, but it also rewards focus with moments of real menace and originality. As a debut full length, it shows a band expanding their sound with ambition, even if not every idea reaches the same level of focus.

Score: 7.0