ALBUM REVIEW: The Infection Spreads – Simulakra

To be honest, you can’t really go wrong when you put metallic hardcore through a deathy, grindy filter. Get yourself nice and angry, don’t forget the HM-2 and wait for the invariably violent results. Delaware’s SIMULAKRA are certainly no exception, but even though their sound may be pretty common in today’s hardcore scene, they rarely come across as also-rans. Their latest album The Infection Spreads is beef and aggro of the highest order. Asking for just 21 minutes of your time, this is a record that leaves subtlety to other, lesser bands.

Five years ago The Infection Spreads would’ve felt quite dystopian in its themes. It centres around a story of “disease, death, and government control”, which of course all feels agonisingly familiar in 2022. Admittedly, it’s not always easy to follow; most of the lyrics come in the form of the expected barks and bellows, but titles like Fading Away and Mankind Is A Disease speak for themselves, while first track Eliminate‘s opening sample of “It’s gonna get worse” feels just about as believable as it ever has. This focus elevates the record just a touch, raising the stakes beyond a perhaps more generic scattershot hatred.

Given the weight of the issues at hand, SIMULAKRA’s chosen method of delivery makes a lot of sense. This album is straight-up mean, its ten tracks providing a shot of pure mosh-fuel absolutely caked in distortion. It’s also just about varied enough even within its limited sonic palette to keep things interesting throughout, with the band flitting from bouncy riffs to crushing breakdowns to full-throttle D-beats seemingly at the drop of a hat. The death metal influence is especially strong too – not only from the requisite HM-2 sound but also often in vocalist Dom Pabon’s absolutely feral delivery.

It’s also probably fair to say The Infection Spreads isn’t really an album of highlights; like a lot of these records, it kind of just barrels past its listeners like a freight train. Sixth track Neurosis does offer a little variation as a quietly pulsating interlude, but other than that and a few moments of buzzing noise and samples at the end of tracks here and there, this is a record whose sole purpose is total destruction. If there is a stand out it’s probably Heretic – a huge head-banging rager – or maybe the aforementioned Mankind Is A Disease, a track which bristles with wholly expected hatred as it declares “Soon all will be lost / Each life comes at a cost / Silenced cries for hope / As we all choke on our own blood”. 

Ultimately though The Infection Spreads is all solid; every track grabs listeners with enough force to remain compelling throughout, and the tight runtime works wonders. With members of this band also already behind some of this year’s hardest hardcore releases from the likes of FOREIGN HANDS and GRIDIRON, this album delivers pretty much exactly as expected. Heavy, horrible and bleak as anything; like we said at the beginning, you can’t go wrong.

Rating: 7/10

The Infection Spreads is set for release on May 24th via DAZE.

Follow SIMULAKRA on Bandcamp.