Review: “Deathwish” by Perpetual Paradox

“This is our boldest, most ambitious work to date. We’ve put everything we have into writing this music, and building a thrilling listening journey. Creating this music has been a gruelling, rewarding and wild ride and we’re so excited to share the best of Perpetual Paradox with you all!” ~ Perpetual Paradox

Starting their journey down the left hand path in 2020, the past five years have seen London heavy hitters Perpetual Paradox honing their skills and sharpening their blades. They have done so in some style, releasing an unholy trinity of EPs in 2021’s “Endless Cycle“, 2022’s “Monophobia” and 2024’s “Endless Cycle“, each one seeing them grow in style and substance. Having destroyed stages alongside the likes of Crypta, Draconian Reign and Collapse the Sky, vocalist Adrian Caucelo, drummer Will Armstrong, bassist André de Barros, rhythm guitarist Jorge Nuñes and lead guitarist Oliver Miles have grown in confidence and now have their sniper rifle sights set firmly on world domination. Fuelled by themes of societal decay, war, inner turmoil and self-destruction as they reflect observations on modern life and their surroundings, the Extreme Metal quintet look like they’re ready to pull the trigger.

Eerie, haunting whispers chase each other down the ear canals with the 76 second introduction piece “Alea Lacta Est” which sends a chill down the spine as it screams something wicked this way comes. Gradually building background sounds soaked in an atmosphere of perpetual darkness serve as the warning and then  “Forgiveness Is A Weakness” hits you like a building site wrecking ball. Caustic vocals from Caucelo on the shriller side of harsh cut against Groove Death riffs before the bark turns to a bellow for a cleaner chorus that makes good use of vocal layering to force the point home like a nail in the coffin. Miles then brings the leads as the band rampage through territory that used to belong to early Lamb Of God, ethnic tinged riffage as infectious as it gets without giving you an STD. After the slick opener comes “Backbone Of Existence” which punches just as hard while turning up the heat and intensity with more technicality in the riff department. A lush clean chorus and the buried choral tinged orchestrations add another layer of depth without even vaguely threatening to overpower the rhythmic battery before the band pull out the kind of brutal breakdown that is usually reserved for the cream of the Deathcore crop. It’s a lethal dose of pure unadulterated hatred and you can argue amongst yourselves about whether the final clean chorus is necessary or not because that moment is one to turn heads and put jaws on the floor. Continuing the dark descent, staccato riff breaks slap in the first half of the savage “Self/Gravity“. An ambient clean chorus flirts with self immolation in delicate fashion, the forlorn lament a moment of beautiful melancholia before the Death Groove riffs soar once more.

Reaching the tempo of the damned “Ash And Blood” finds Armstrong reaching blast beat territory, Nuñes bringing crushing rhythmic riff battery to the fuel the fire. Dirge laden moments are matched by rumbling bass before a little echo on those bullish vocals makes for a tasty treat in the mid section. Technical leads into a blistering solo is the cherry on the metaphorical cake and extending those before one final chorus makes this one nothing short of immense. “Unhealable Wounds” then races out of hells gate like a demon with a deadly purpose, Caucelo roaring his way through the lyrics like a man possessed. Sinister riffs lead into punishing mosh parts in the mid section, a page from the book of The Black Dahlia Murder seemingly torn out for inspiration. Slowing things down in the final moments there is a gang chant in the fade that could have been a fist pumping moment and when it gets played live the band should definitely make more use of it to get the energy up and the crowd involved. Building on the foundations of the earlier tracks, galloping drums and a whirlwind of leads give “Deathwish” a real spark with intense bark and bite vocals. Transcending in a single moment into a whisper and melody this tale of a broken relationship gives us an unexpected moment of respite and clarity which works incredibly well. That’s in part because of the injection of raw emotion before the ascent into soaring leads and a face melting solo begins, all of which culminates in producing the kind of grand finale that deserves a grand auditorium. While the title track would have been a fitting conclusion, Perpetual Paradox have one more trick up their collective sleeves in “Into The Void“, which lyrically feels like the sequel to it. A brutal cut which arguably harbours the most vicious vocal performance from Caucelo, it rattles the cage before another melodic bridge. Finishing the dance macabre with violins and pouring rain is a thing of beauty and it has to be said that with this record Perpetual Paradox do indeed fulfil their potential [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Alea Lacta Est
2. Forgiveness Is A Weakness
3. Backbone Of Existence
4. Self/Gravity
5. Ash And Blood
6. Unhealable Wounds
7. Deathwish
8. Into The Void

“Deathwish” by Perpetual Paradox is out 27th June 2025