“An existence of pure misery.“
Reflecting on 2023, it would be more than fair to say that Going Off have been a band that have more than made their impact in the UK, in both the metaphorical sense and literal sense to those who have had their faces planted to their savage tunes. Signing to Church Road Records and releasing What Makes You Tick? moved going up to the top of the card on line-ups, displaying a feral sound with a humanity that caught the ear of many.
Not settling with what they had achieved on the LP, Going Off deliver a second release of this year with KILL LIST, and it leans into something much more ruthless and evil than what has become before. As opener “Crossroads” hits the ear, the difference in tone becomes evident, an almost more raw production and sound bashes the ear. This continues on “Pay the Price” which doubles-down on the hardness, with vocalist Jake Huxley‘s barks having a nastiness to them that is difficult to match in recent memory.
What comes next on “Teeth” is something much more brooding, with lower guitar tones rumbling throughout the majority of the record. Following tracks “Weak Limbs” and “Smile” continue with the drawn and quartered nature on KILL LIST, and is where the misery that the record is confronting begins to fully sink in. On “Bed of Concrete“, Huxley yells “So many people we’ve failed we see lying on a bed of concrete“, commenting on the homelessness crisis. It’s one of many moments that should stick in the craw for many given the day to day realities of the topics at hand on KILL LIST.
The most menacing listening is saved until last on “Servant to the Skin“, a paced track that sees Huxley lament on human consciousness in a Ligotti-esque manner, refusing to department on a cathartic manner than many modern records do. This is what makes KILL LIST such a distinguishable listen, the bleak and harrow lyrics are matched in the vocal performance and the atmosphere and sound that is built instrumentally. While it may not be a listen that many will be willing to traverse, it’s a record that is willing to front up the misery that society has to offer at the moment.
7.5/10
KILL LIST is out December 1st via Church Road Records.