Review: “Death Wasn’t Enough” by Jamie Ryan

Inspired by bands like Nails, Carcass and Nasum to name but a few, multi instrumentalist and vocalist Jamie Ryan had an idea for a solo project that some might consider total and utter madness. The Irishman, living just south of Paris in France was sick to the back teeth of over produced albums in contemporary mental that are, quite frankly polished to within an inch of their lives and used that rage as fuel for his fire. In his infinite wisdom he decided for his solo project he would write, record and mix a body of work in just five days, the time frame kept deliberately short to inject the feeling of urgency into his burnt offerings. He started in the afternoon of Monday 8th September, a deadline of 18:00 on Friday the 12th set upon which he would release all the completed material, no matter what…

A week in the life of Jamie Ryan gets underway with the bone crushing “Birthrite“, a fifty eight second burst of violent turbulence that falls into the Bermuda triangle between Death Metal, Hardcore and Power Violence. The concept behind the track is that life is a death sentence from the moment you’re born and with artillery shelling percussive battery, razor sharp riffs and a lethal dose of barbed vocals it’s a system shock of a wake up call. If you were expecting something raw and punishing that sounds like a demo recorded down a drain then guess again because the quality of this first cut is seriously impressive given the time constraints and pressure Ryan put himself under. If that was a warning shot then “Leech” is the one that catches you right between the eyes, a vicious little ditty that has some Knocked Loose vibes in the guitar department. Ryan goes all out attack on this one as a man hellbent on vengeance, uttering those immortal words “I live to prove you wrong!” with a middle finger raised in the land of hypocrisy.

“Grave Pressure” features a guest vocal appearance from Fabien Wayne Furter of Death Whore and how Ryan managed to persuade him to do join the party at such short notice is beyond comprehension but he did and that’s all that matters. The longest cut of the collection and the lyrical title track, this one runs to three and a half minutes, slowing things down a little without easing up on the intensity for even a second. Sludge tinged Death Metal riffs create the dark atmospheric with some serious whammy bar action in the final throes a tasty treat. A slick track through which you can see all of Ryan’s influences, it may stand out because its different but that’s by no means a bad thing. “To Each The Knife” completes the collection in rampaging fashion, restless and relentless drumming severing flesh from bone in the first thirty seconds. Vocally caustic, it not only bites the hand that feeds but tears the whole arm out of the socket before running away like a rabid dog, the abrasive guitars doing nothing to ease the pain.

It turns out there was method to Jamie Ryan’s madness because what he’s been able to achieve in five days is nothing short of a miracle. If you didn’t know it had been written, recorded and mixed in five days then there is nothing here to indicate it has been and it certainly doesn’t sound rushed or like any compromises have been made due to the deadline. Instead what Ryan has done with this record is prove that if you put your mind, heart and soul into something then you can achieve great things because this is as lethal a dose of vile hatred as you’re going to find anywhere [8/10]

Track Listing

1. Birthrite
2. Leech
3. Grave Pressure (ft. Fabien Wayne Furter of Death Whore)
4. To Each The Knife

“Death Wasn’t Enough” by Jamie Ryan is out 12th September 2025 and is available over at bandcamp.