“Fear my eternal wrath.”
It seems deathcore has been swiftly reaching something of a peak in recent years. With the rise of bands like Lorna Shore, Slaughter To Prevail and Darko, the once-hated genre looks to have finally embedded itself in the greater cultural consciousness of metal after years of being the butt of almost every joke around it. The newer generation of metal fans and musicians alike are to thank for this, and one such group of musicians is the UK’s own Beyond Extinction. A young group, to be sure, but one that, while certainly wearing its influences on its sleeves, seems to have its shit together.
That brings us to the subject of this review, the unit’s sophomore EP Nothing More Wretched. Truth be told, I believe the way in which you respond to this EP will be determined by your mindset going into it. If you’re yearning for something deeper and more profound, this may not be the release for you. However, if you’re down with 20 minutes of no-bullshit, dumb deathcore fun, then Nothing More Wretched will undoubtedly scratch that itch.
After opening with a subdued cacophony of droning electronics and eerie whispers, Nothing More Wretched wastes absolutely no time in introducing you to just what Beyond Extinction are all about: being fucking heavy. Pounding double kicks, primal low-tuned riffing and fierce vocals enter the fold without hesitation on “The Subjugator”, and leave a lasting imprint. Containing guitar work reminiscent of Black Tongue, as well as taking clear influence from the early, breakdown-centric years of deathcore, the EP’s opening number sets a tone that is matched for much of Nothing More Wretched’s runtime.
Title track “Nothing More Wretched” follows, and while it opens with a more traditionally death metal-inspired tremolo riff, the groovy, low-tuned goodness present on the last track return in full force here. For better or for worse, dependent on your perspective, Beyond Extinction are clearly not all too concerned with taking themselves too seriously here, as the entire back half of this four-minute rager feels like one extended breakdown after another.
It all feels very silly, in the most appropriately deathcore way possible – you can almost envision the group in the studio writing this and making stank faces at each other at the sheer absurdity of it. That absurdity is only doubled down on a couple of tracks following on “Eyes of God Look Down Upon Me”, as just as you assume the track is coming to a close, it returns with the EP’s most sparsely composed and downright unnecessarily brutal moment.
The EP closes out with “Plague Monarch”, which grants the listener a moment of reprieve through its extended introduction. The oddly melodic introductory passages here demonstrate a side to the group not yet seen on Nothing More Wretched, and one that I would certainly like to see more of in the future. It does, admittedly, take quite a while to get into the action, with its first verse clocking in at around two minutes, but it’s a welcome stylistic break, and one that demonstrates that perhaps there is more up Beyond Extinction’s sleeves than ignorant breakdowns and violent chugs. The remainder of the track is made up of the group’s signature djenty riffing and slammy chugs, but still serves to end off Nothing More Wretched with a question of “what exactly are they capable of?”
While Nothing More Wretched certainly isn’t going to blow any minds or break any records, it clearly isn’t trying to. What is present here is a more than solid, and incredibly fun effort from one of deathcore’s hardest working young bands, and one that leaves me excited for just what the band may achieve going forward.
7/10
Nothing More Wretched will be available this Friday, March 17th via Dead Species Records, and you can pre-order the record here.