“Your world of pleasure comes crashing down.”
The split EP concept is a familiar one within the hardcore world, with recent releases including GEL & Cold Brats, Mexican Coke; Urn, Lifecrusher & Frantic State as well as the near decade old Knocked Loose and Damage Goods split, which contains one of the former’s strongest songs in the form of “Burnt Toast“. It’s a format that has a sense of novelty that gives it a charm, along with the excitement of two top bands combining forces on a record.
When XweaponX teased a potential split of their own via their Instagram story, the speculation of who it could possibly be alongside lit up, even with names such as Church Tongue being thrown into the mixer. Now with World Of Pleasure being revealed as the collaboration, it’s unquestionable that the surprise was worth the wait, and with it they have arguably delivered one of the strongest split EPs the wider metalcore/hardcore scene has seen to date.
Introducing itself with a sample of Rust Cohle from True Detective, it’s nice to hear a different TV show sample other than The Sopranos. Even from its opening track “Paid in Blood“, there is something about XweaponX that is abundantly clear – their energy in unmistakable. As Baugher yells out “This is a debt paid only in blood” leading into a gnarly breakdown, the imagination flourishes of just how well the material on this split would translate in a live setting.
Off the back of their Demo EP last year, there is an air of expectation that whatever followed would surely be exceptional. The most notable upgrade is within the production, which has a tighter feel to it, with a heightened sense of presence within so many elements of the mix here. On the split EP, the first full collaborative effort comes with “Domination III“, the third in the “Domination” series, this time being performed by XweaponX instead of World Of Pleasure. The plenty of kayfabe moments referencing previous tracks such as “Straight Edge Domination” have a level of satisfaction to them that is undeniable in practice. Nyx and Baugher‘s vocals blend together impeccably here, and their dual vocal trade-off give see the split reach an early peak.
With the focus switching over to World Of Pleasure, who have hit a wave of popularity since the release of World of Pleasure & Friends, which we named as one of 2022’s best EPs in our year-end lists. As Nyx yells out, “Nothing will save you, world of pleasure“, it seems that the Canadian unit are set to inadvertently steal the show from out of the gate. The tone of the kick drum here is immaculate, with a snare that absolute pops, and there is a signature breadth to the wider instrumental mix here that truly brings their fierce sound to life.
The fury of Nyx‘s vocals continues on closer “Uzis Akimbo“, which offers up a breakdown that might be difficult to top this year, opening with a nod to XweaponX in the form of “I am vegan in spite of you”. There is an undeniable intensity to both World Of Pleasure tracks, which certainly follows on from the trend set by their previous EP, and is likely the ultimate reason as to why the group have gained so much traction as of late. There is a sense of innate groove in the riffs across both tracks that compliments that energy, that ultimately gives a complete feel to both tracks that doesn’t leave anything wanting.
On paper, a collaboration between XweaponX and World Of Pleasure was always going to be spectacular. A quick run through of the names involved would leave no doubt of that in the mind. A tidy and concise package that ensures no stone is left unturned, with each band bringing their best elements to the table, along with clever lyrical cross-referencing, it will be difficult to top this split EP for some time to come.
9/10
XweaponX and World Of Pleasure split is out now via Daze Records.