Review: “Underground Forever” by Duskwalker

Having been known as The Offering for their first three years, Duskwalker bring the bloodstained curtain down on almost a decade of aggression as they unleash their third album “Underground Forever” upon an unsuspecting World. A Thrash injected Death Metal band with Traditional Heavy Metal roots, the quartet hail from Niagara Falls in Ontario Canada where they have received the Canadian Niagara Music Awards for Best Metal Group in both 2019 and 2020. Add to that playing the US midwest festival Full Terror Assault, opening for iconic bands such as Hate Eternal, Suicidal Tendencies and Crowbar and you get an idea of their pedigree. Mixed and mastered by Marko Tervonen (Sarcator, For Ruin, The Crown) the new album was recorded by guitarist John Robinson at Castle Tracula where he was joined by vocalist Joey Scaringi (Varius), drummer Cale Costello (Bathed In Blood) and bassist John Neadow (Ocular Trauma)…

One glance at the track titles and cover art for “Underground Forever” and you get the instant impression of a band inspired by low budget horror films on VHS. It’s almost like it’s 1986 and Pennywise is dragging passers by kicking and screaming into the gutter in the mind of Duskwalker vocalist Joey Scaringi and that is something that piques our interest. Why wouldn’t it? As you might expect “Crippled At The Core” is a beast of an opening cut in groove laden Death Thrash which sees the band demonstrating their rhythmic prowess without any sinful synths in sight. Instead the track is a timeless tip of the hat to bands like Morbid Angel, Slayer and Pantera with death growls galore from Scaringi and skull battering kit work from Costello. You just can’t help but bang your head to “The Loss” on the very first listen because the track has that air of familiarity about it that makes it instantly addictive. Scaringi pushes his vocal limits with a couple of  elongated roars and some harsher moments before Robinson pulls out a ripper of a solo that raises the hairs on the back of the neck. After that stone cold winner, an early Metallica inspired riff on steroids is pulled from the Underverse for “Never Going Back” and accompanied by the kind of kit performance that gets masters like Kevin Talley and Gene Hoglan hot under the collar. A gang chanted vocal moment is going to go down a storm live, as is the flamboyant solo that follows because this Speed Death Thrash cut is insane.

It’s not until the title track “Underground Forever” rears its ugly head that the first hints at Traditional Heavy Metal rise to the surface as they’re combined with Thrash riffs for an old school styled cut once again delivered at neck snapping pace. It works because it introduces a little more melody without introducing any clean singing so you get the best of both worlds without too much sacrifice and the gang chant that rounds it off is perfectly weighted. A little respite then turns dangerous with the menacing and sinister “City On A Cemetery“, a track upon which Scaringi brings out his finest Death Metal vocals. Reducing the tempo just a little in order to build atmosphere before going all out groove in the finale, it’s a headbangers delight and arguably the heaviest, most intense track on the record. Back in 2003 when Pantera split up if the brothers Dime had reached out to the much missed Trevor Strnad from The Black Dahlia Murder to be their vocalist for Damageplan instead of Pat Lachman then they would have created songs like “Posing Corpses” together. That’s how good this Duskwalker track is, a homage to legends with performances that astound and what’s great about it is that they didn’t throw it away thinking it was a bridge too far. The musicianship is incredible and the vocals as harsh as you like, the story telling capabilities of Scaringi second to none. A spoken word news real style sample in the middle of “Artillery Communion” adds another dimension as the four piece think outside of the box, the dirge laden riffage of the powerhouse cut ploughing a furrow to the cranium via the ear drum.

Underneath layers of Death Metal there is a Traditional Heavy Metal heart to “Vanquisher” which rises to the surface with a mesmerising sweeping solo from Robinson that leads into a bass solo from Neadow. A cut that fits perfectly in the context of the record and enduring that the flow is maintained, it pushes the dexterity of the rhythmic gymnastics that little bit further as it batters the skull with pulverising percussion. A sandblasting for the skin “Blasted Past Extinction” takes the horror theme to a new level before meandering around a few ethnic inspired riffs in the final third. Another crushing affair that strikes a perfect balance between the elements that formulate the bands sound, this one probably won’t get the acclaim it deserves because the earlier cuts are that little bit stronger. However as far as this reviewer is concerned, as the cliché goes this album is all killer, no filler. How about a little melody and some soaring riffs before the band turn our brains to sawdust? “Inhaling The Dust Of Bone” has that vibe to it with a twin guitar layered assault but is still anvil heavy, soaked in Bay Area Thrash nostalgia while being a couple of shades heavier. It’s the perfect conclusion to an album that is so good it defies logic. Put simply Robinson, Scaringi, Costellow and Neadow prove they are deserving of those accolades they were given five years ago [9/10]

Track Listing

1. Crippled At The Core
2. The Loss
3. Never Going Back
4. Underground Forever
5. City On A Cemetery
6. Posing Corpses
7. Artillery Communion
8. Vanquisher
9. Blasted Past Extinction
10. Inhaling The Dust Of Bone

“Underground Forever” by Duskwalker is out 26th July 2024 via Black Lion Records and is available over at bandcamp.