Tyler Mullen used to sing for the great Delaware metallic hardcore band Year Of The Knife; he was their vocalist when they released their punishing 2020 debut album Internal Incarceration. Last year, under somewhat mysterious circumstances, Mullen left that band, and bassist Madi Watkins took over as singer. (In a recent interview, YOTK guitarist Brandon Watkins says that Mullen “fell out of love with the band.”) Right now, Madi Watkins is recovering from a traumatic brain injury sustained in a horrific tour-van crash in Utah this past June. YOTK also just released their new album No Love Lost, which was recorded before the crash. Meanwhile, Tyler Mullen has a new band, and it’s making some very nasty music.

Tyler Mullen sounds more consistently pissed-off than just about any other singer in hardcore, a genre that relies on overwhelmingly pissed-off vocals. These days, Mullen is using that voice in the Philadelphia-based band Scarab, which also includes veterans of groups like Simulakra, Seed Of Pain, and Envision. Scarab released their demo earlier this year, and they’ve played a bunch of live shows that, judging by footage, have been nuts. Today, they’ve released a monster of a four-song EP.

The tracks on Scarab’s new EP Seeking Chaos And Revenge After Betrayal are short, fast, and brutal. The band plays with serious speed and guttural force, and their intensity is tremendous. I don’t know if there’s bad blood between Tyler Mullen and his former Year Of The Knife bandmates, but I think it’s awesome to have both of these bands out there, making triumphantly ugly music. Listen to Scarab’s new EP below.

The self-released Seeking Chaos And Revenge After Betrayal is out now on Rebirth Records.