ALBUM REVIEW: Hell Will Come For Us All – Aversions Crown

In recent years, deathcore has undergone an evolution of unprecedented proportions. Soulless breakdowns, riffless songs and unintelligible gutturals have made way for something new, something more sinister. This new wave of deathcore is built on a stronger foundation of atmosphere, blackened elements often seeping through while the genre must-have of earth-shattering breakdowns opt for a harder hitting, elevating punch, rather than obligatory china cymbal and thick-as-rope open notes. But it isn’t all new. Australian extraterrestrials AVERSIONS CROWN have been harnessing this very different style of deathcore for the better part of a decade, and are doubling down on their chops with their fourth offering, Hell Will Come For Us All.

From even a casual first listen, its abundantly clear that Hell Will Come For Us All covers a motherload of ground – but with one key, unifying aspect: complete and total sonic annihilation. Right from the groove heavy slammer that is opening couplet The Soil and Born in the Gutter, AVERSIONS CROWN are immediately here to prove their relevance among the likes of THY ART IS MURDER, LORNA SHORE and CARNIFEX. Both openers bring the thunder, delivering blast beats aplenty, classic AVERSIONS CROWN melodies, semi-clean yells and little blackened flourishes to round out the sound. A solid start, that continues with the equally devastating Paradigm and Caught in the System – but it isn’t until Hell Will Come For Us All‘s title track that we really see AVERSIONS CROWN flexing the full weight of their creativity.

Hell Will Come For Us All is a monolithic representation of the record, bringing a new level of both atmosphere and sheer brutality to the band’s sound. Blackened tremolo riffs and melodies ooze through the title track, creating a far grimmer, darker sound than what the album has delivered thus far. New vocalist Tyler Miller heralds in an utterly apocalyptic breakdown in the closing third of the track, while slower, riffs round off the track with a tangible sense of impending doom. The progression from just Caught in the System to Hell Will Come For Us All is mindboggling – and this newer, harsher sound of AVERSIONS CROWN doesn’t end there. Scourge of Violence brings an old-school deathcore sound, coupled with the band’s modern twist, and is a slab of sheer musical violence with the atmosphere serving to make the riff-work and drumming hit all the harder.

But its the closing triplet of Hell Will Come For Us All that really stands out. Here, AVERSIONS CROWN deliver three of the best songs of their career, easy. Hymn of Annihilation begins the descent, swaying between crushing breakdowns and eviscerating riffs with ease, all with a deeply unsettling, melodious atmosphere that really lifts the track, while following Sorrow Never Sleeps is something truly special. Hell Will Come For Us All‘s is some of the darkest, most emotionally brutal material the band have released, the atmosphere hitting just as hard as the riffs. A spectacular example of where the band’s sound is heading, things only get stronger with closing track The Final Judgement. Synth heavy atmosphere – an ever-present aspect of AVERSIONS CROWN – take an even more prominent, almost symphonic role here, providing a wonderful compliment to the orbital bombardment level of brutality on display. Closing tracks can oft be a statement of intent for whats to come with following releases – if this is the case with The Final Judgement, AVERSIONS CROWN will be set for world domination.

It feels like a long three years since Xenocide, but Brisbane’s finest are back – and they are here to brutalise. The opening few tracks are strong, but with the title track and beyond AVERSIONS CROWN show the incredible new path they are set to walk. Hell Will Come For Us All is ferocious from start to finish, bringing elements of both a more traditional death metal sound and a blackened edge into play while still harnessing those otherworldly melodies and atmospherics to great effect. If SLAYER‘s Reign in Blood is the soundtrack of Hell, Hell Will Come For Us All is the soundtrack of humanity’s annihilation at the hands of a far grander species.

Rating: 8/10

Hell Will Come For Us All is set for release June 12th via Nuclear Blast Records. 

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