Review: “Cognitive Extinction” by Warside

One of many bands who have played a lot of shows but don’t actually have that much material committed to tape, Warside have been pledging allegiance to the flag of Death Metal since 2018. Hailing from Lyon in France they released their debut EP “The Enemy Inside” back in 2020, announcing themselves with a raw, direct and uncompromising sound and put simply they haven’t looked back since. In 2023 the quartet embarked on their first European tour alongside Polish Death Thrash Kings Vader and Swedish masters Vomitory as part of the “40 Years of the Apocalypse” tour, a run which was followed a year later by a second European tour with Vader, covering 15 countries. After that came a run of shows opening for Belgian Death Metal legends Aborted in Japan, at which point you know they’ve earned their stripes.

Built on the experience gained through those two European tours “Cognitive Extinction” marks a new chapter for Warside in the studio at least as only two members who recorded their debut EP remain in the group. Those original members are guitarist Vincent Morelle (Skox, Hemerah, Visceral Strangulation) and now bassist Jérôme Camus (Abrupt, Hemerah, Whisper-X). In 2023 they were joined by drummer Thô Jarret (Festering Process, Sharked) and last year by vocalist Mathieu Jarret (Festering Process). Together they have completed eight fresh cuts for a long awaited debut album dubbed “Cognitive Extinction” aided and abetted by former Benighted drummer Kevin Paradis who recorded them and Thibault Bernard (Deathawaits, Monolyth, Tempt Fate) who subsequently mixed and mastered at Convulsound Studio. All of that is conjoined to artwork by Jesus Lhysta (Worm Shepherd, Bloody Falls, Skulldozer) because as they say, the first bite is with the eye.

A haunting sample about suicide introduces the psychological Death Metal outburst that is “Mind Fracture” before drummer Thô Jarret blasts his way through the space and time, the abrasive riffs and throat splitting vocals a raw and honest appraisal of the situation. A fat free rhythmic pummelling that has plenty of thrills and spills, if it had a little more groove it would be very much in the vein of bands like Strangle Wire. Instead it’s more of a barbed delight, the quartet focusing on what makes them tick all playing out at the tempo of the damned. One vicious assault on the senses is never enough so “Synaptic Decay” maintains that clinical precision at neck snapping pace with a tight bass solo before a blistering old school style guitar solo that takes us back to the 90’s era of Death Metal as a genre. A blunt force trauma of a track that feels like being hit over and over in the face by a concrete slab, it represents a dark new dawn for the band as well as a new era of power.

There is no remorse or repent as “Neurocide” feels like being caught in an artillery shelling as if it were a thunderstorm, such is the quality of the performance of Thô Jarret behind the drums. The menace of the rumbling bass alongside the cut and thrust of the guitar work makes this one a violent delight to incite mosh pit madness when performed live, the message in a bottle more of a Molotov Cocktail than anything else. Rapid fire riffs ignite the blue touch paper of “Invasive Thoughts” and as the title suggests, there is a bit of eerie atmosphere in that rears its ugly head on a couple of occasions. However that doesn’t stop this one from being an all guns blazing affair of the highest order because the Warside only know one speed and that constant sense of everything being in overdrive is what makes it an absolute belter.

A twelve second introduction to “Synthetic Abyss” offers momentary respite before Warside hit full throttle once more. This highly caffeinated display of Death Metal debauchery is actually one that has some shriller vocal patterns and even just a pinch of melody in between groove laden bomb blasts an venomous tirades. “Visceral” gets underway with a bloodcurdling roar from the demonic Mathieu Jarret, the earworm main riff one that is almost impossible to escape. As a track this one feels like it should be the accompaniment to a chase sequence in a horror movie, the predator chasing the prey through a dark forest with just a the glint of the knife blade in the moonlight to keep you on the edge of your seat. Once again it has to be said that the bass solo is masterfully done and perfectly timed, the tone they’ve been able to get perfect for the sound they’ve created.

A flamboyant virtuoso Death Thrash solo at the very start of “Thirst for Rot” is a sublime moment of complete majesty before Warside roar through Death Punk riffs galore, the old school with modern production values sound one that works incredibly well. Mathieu Jarret sounds like a man possessed by an inhuman force before the sweeping melodic leads add another dimension, the cut throat finale making this one arguably the best of the bunch. Title track “Cognitive Extinction” was never going to be a power ballad, the quartet sticking to what they do best, powering through lethal chord changes in menacing and sinister fashion. The surprise comes in the final third as they embrace a rich and powerful melody with melancholic leanings as a suitably fitting sample plays out. After the adrenaline rush that preceded it, those final moments feel like a glorious burn and that is what makes all the difference [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Mind Fracture
2. Synaptic Decay
3. Neurocide
4. Invasive Thoughts
5. Synthetic Abyss
6. Visceral
7. Thirst for Rot
8. Cognitive Extinction

“Cognitive Extinction” by Warside is out 17th April 2026 via Gruesome Records and is available over at bandcamp