Review: “Nothing More Wretched” by Beyond Extinction

By their own admission encouraging violence in the pit since 2019, the prior convictions of Essex Death Metal quartet Beyond Extinction speak for themselves. Selling out half of their first headlining tour of our green and pleasant land, vocalist Jasper Harmer, guitarists Jude Bennett and Zack Scott alongside drummer Niall Ali decimated the weak at Bloodstock Open Air Festival in 2021 off the back of their debut EP “The Fatal Flaws Of Humankind”, with its 34k of Spotify streams alone single “God Complex” not only placing them firmly on the map but announcing their intentions by burying their hatchet in it. Since then they have trodden where many Gods fear to and shared stages with bands both in and out of the Death Metal scene, never afraid to go toe to toe with bigger bands and win over a hostile crowd with their brand of fire eating as everyone from Cancer Bats to Our Hollow Our Home and even Red Method have been forced to prove themselves after daring to take the quartet for to the stage.

Having broken through with a violent rage of downtuned Deathcore and Death Metal influences in the melting pot, maintaining their vice grip on their status is a whole new realm of existence for Beyond Extinction and with “Nothing More Wretched” they ensure they do just that. First chapter “Warmth of the Empty Light” begins the tale of wrath and hatred with an atmospheric piece that captures the attention and may well serve as a live set introduction tape before the Earth shattering “Subjugator” rattles the bones like a spineshank. Part DJent, part Thrall, part Deathcore and all Metal this lethal dose of hatred is a punch in the guts that invades on the territory that bands like Black Tongue have made their own while having a sprinkling of magic of its own. The sheer crushing weight of the downtempo Deathcore breakdown that concludes it is enough to reduce venues to rubble alone. The ground trembles as the title track crawls out from under, the bombastic breakdown riffs registering as seismic activity. Embellished by programming the dark, sinister and downright menacing piece also has ethereal touches that send shivers down the spine. They bleed into “Gravedigger“, a cut which finds them joined by a solitary guest in Patty Kolasa of Existentialist.

Another brutal cut, in isolation this one feels like being broadsided by a Juggernaut, the fragile body thrown up into the air only the be crushed by the eighteen wheels seconds later. Clever tempo changes and slick transitions between passages keep the flow smooth and the intensity high as the band destroy everything in their path in pursuing the levelling of every building in the vicinity. Harmer manages to create a powerful lyrical narrative and match it vocally with something unclean enough to sound incredible and yet clean enough that every word can be heard without needing a monoclonal and lyric sheet to decipher the code. That’s no mean feat. “Eyes of God Look Down Upon Me” rumbles destructively, blending the old and the new seamlessly with Blackened moments to accompany the blasphemous lyrics, fleeting blast beats and crushing rhythms finding the band in Humanity’s Last Breath territory and loving every moment. But this band are so much more than meets the eye and the melodic yet sinister cinematic introduction to “Plague Monarch” confirms that before everything comes crashing down for the hind of rampaging blood bath of a finale that you’d expect from the finest of horror movies let alone a Death Metal record. The quality on show here will see Beyond Extinction continue to rise and if they’re not sharing stages with international touring bands on the strength of this then there is something wrong with the World. Do yourself favour and listen! [8.5/10]

Track Listing

1. Warmth of the Empty Light
2. Subjugator
3. Nothing More Wretched
4. Gravedigger (ft.  Patty Kolasa of Existentialist)
5. Eyes of God Look Down Upon Me
6. Plague Monarch

“Nothing More Wretched” by Beyond Extinction is out 17th March 2023