ALBUM REVIEW: Deathwish – Within Destruction

Deathcore has changed over the years. Where the original purveyors of the genre have either turned their hand to more melodic pastures or are still rocking the same blueprint as before, the modern generation seems to be dragging the genre to the deepest parts of hell. WITHIN DESTRUCTION are one such band, dead set on seemingly trying to actually injure the listener with a hearty slice of music so abusive, it’ll actually make your head hurt.

Deathwish opens with it’s title track after a sufficiently clichéd opener of supposed found footage talking about alien invasions and all the rest. It’s an easy set up for the on coming onslaught but you can skip right past it to get to the real meat. The opening title track does a good job of displaying what exactly is on offer. The crystal clear production is on full display as the record spews forth track after track. False Revelation takes influence from other genre contemporaries THY ART IS MURDER with it’s lead guitars floating over rapturous rhythms, much like the following Extinction.

There does seem to be a feeling of refinement throughout the record, with more streamlined structures being found within the album, as well as more lead guitar segments and a better approach to how they deliver the fabled breakdowns. The drumming is absolutely stellar throughout the record and plays a massive part in how well the record paces itself, flowing in and out of grooving beats and thunderous blast beats. The guitars are able to follow the lead, and as such create monstrous songs like Torture Ritual, which kicks into action with a beastly groove before picking up the pace and proceeding to shred the listeners face clean off.

The middle chunk of Deathwish really is a collection of the best examples of modern deathcore at its most extreme. Downfall Of Humanity will level all those who listen to it with an astounding mid song breakdown, whilst the primal and frankly horrifying vocals that appear in Human Defect all glisten behind the well balanced and extremely well produced sound. There are always tendencies for the songs to saturate when things really do get out of hand but WITHIN DESTRUCTION do a fantastic job of balancing their thick sound, something they are utterly reliant upon.

What Deathwish does tremendously well is presenting utter extremity in HD quality. For the uninitiated, this is a welcome entry into a genre that boasts insanity but often lacks the quality to really highlight the musicianship. There is certainly an argument for the character that muddy production can bring, but for the assault that WITHIN DESTRUCTION want to bring, they have polished their sound over their previous works to get to Deathwish. A well written and clean sounding record that has vocals recorded in the local slaughterhouse. It wont go making any new fans, but for the initiated and the curious, this is a brutally brilliant time.

Rating: 8/10

Deathwish is out now via self-release. 

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