“I need to proceed, with fragments of a legacy.“
Industrial electronicore duo fakeyourdeath have been trailblazers in the subgenre, making up a key part of Brighton’s burgeoning heavy music scene. Their first EP, 2024’s null/void, set a high-water mark. It sounded less like a release from a band just starting out and more like an act ready to finally let loose. Their brand-new EP (NON)ENTITY is that act letting loose on another level entirely.
Described by vocalist Candi Underwood as ‘a labour of love’, it has a laser-locked intensity from the get-go. Powered by Wayne Adams’ assured production, it’s a thrillingly dark descent into some of the hardest, gnarliest synthlines and breaks that I’ve ever heard, paired fittingly with themes of self-reflection, the darker side of mental health and anger at the outside world.
The EP opens with a jagged scream from Underwood; it’s like a warning siren as she signals the sonic violence to come. What follows is “X/Y,” arguably the band’s breakthrough song. It’s the strongest track across the release as Underwood sounds like her vocal has been fed through a Game Boy Advance, and Sam Barnes’ drums cinematically thrash underneath, only to cut out as the guitar kicks onto the warpath in its final moments.Track two, “Shapeshifter,” propels this energy forward with stunning effect. A drum’n’bass-adjacent opening careers into an overwhelming wall of crushing, glitching, fried synths, drums and Underwood’s anguished scream.
The only misstep is “R.I.P.M.E,” which squanders a promising metallic found sound opening. Moments reminiscent of Inon Zur’s Fallout soundtracks show early innovation, only to fall towards familiar industrial cliches; it feels like filler on a release already brimming with dark, animalistic tension. Even then, its pounding four-to-the-floor rhythm surpasses Nine Inch Nails‘ “As Alive as You Need Me to Be” in its gravitas.
This is offset by the final track “The parasite that never gives in”, where the record finally descends to the ninth circle of the underworld. Underwood goes for full-on deathcore R&B mode, with distorted, glitching edge-of-a-breakdown screaming that echoes Tribe of Ghosts’ Beccy Blaker in their intensity, while Barnes’ drums go scorched-earth as the whole record melts and fuses like silicone under a blowtorch.Across its four tracks (NON)ENTITY delivers a level of heaviness that hits straight to the heart and never lets go. It’s the singular best EP of the year so far; I loved every single second of it.
8/10
(NON)ENTITY releases on the 13th March and can be pre-ordered here.