EP REVIEW Bestial Condemnation – Walking Wounded
Ohio is for lovers, or more specifically in this instance, lovers of big riffs. With Cleveland hosting an already bustling underground of metal bands, newer kids on the block WALKING WOUNDED are certainly one to keep an eye on. Whilst the four piece did just recently release this first full EP, Bestial Condemnation, with six tracks, this version comes with an additional six bonus tracks to get your teeth into and ensure the ride isn’t too short and sweet.
The four piece pride themselves on being strongly inspired by the likes of SUFFOCATION and OBITUARY, doing a stellar job of incorporating the grit and groove of this old school death metal into a hardcore environment.
Opening track Battle Worn kicks things of with a slow and steady chug, showcasing Noah Hardesty’s vocals that help balance the death metal and hardcore elements and although the concept of the record is based on Hardesty’s fantasy story about “a man cursed by his own greed and made to walk the earth as a beast”, this album is far from ethereal.
The first few songs keep a similar pace to the above, not necessarily to ease you in but to help grow the intensity, almost like a determined crawl to the top of a hill. Once there and when the sixty second onslaught of Depravity hits, is when the true hardcore spirit takes over and there’s breakdowns to punch your mates to aplenty from here on in.
The production of this record is crisp without losing the gruesomeness expected, with a similar approach to newer metallic hardcore bands such as I AM and END, exploring enough of a variety in pace to keep you invested. This is lucky, considering the band decided to double the length of the EP with an additional six tracks that showcase some earlier released singles that showcase a more aggressive raw side to the quartet. Righteous Brutality is a stand-out with a break down capable of face scrunch city, before being whiplashed back into a speedy thrashing gallop.
Interestingly WALKING WOUNDED wrap things up with Birth, the first song the band released back in 2022, showcasing a more powerviolence vibe akin to NAILS and a far cry from the style started off on the EP but if it means they can cover all of these styles with such ferocity, many fan bases need to be keeping an eye on WALKING WOUNDED’s next bloody and bruised steps.
Rating: 8/10
Bestial Condemnation is set for release on October 18th via Relapse Records.
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