EP REVIEW: Everlasting Torment – High Command
As we find ourselves firmly stuck into a winter like no other, it’s easy to relate to the origins of a band like HIGH COMMAND. The group came together as a means of staving off winter boredom in their home state of Massachusetts. They’ve since evolved into something far more than that however. Today, they constitute an exciting five-piece who fuse thrash metal, punk and hardcore to scathing effect. After releasing a promising demo and seven inch, they signed to Southern Lord – often a sign of quality – in 2018. A debut full-length, entitled Beyond The Wall Of Desolation, soon followed. That record made for a raucous, thrashy rager which drew comparisons to the likes of POWER TRIP and CRO-MAGS. Now, they’re back with Everlasting Torment – a two-track EP that seeks to continue the crushing chaos.
The first of the two songs is the record’s four minute title track. It kicks off with some mid-paced stompy riffing before dropping to something slow and ominous with low, barely audible vocals. It’s not the most exciting start, but fortunately HIGH COMMAND soon tear into more energetic fare. From here the track picks up significantly. With squealing divebombs, blistering riffs, and abrasive vocals, it’s deeply reminiscent of their previous offering. It also can’t help but bring to mind the iconic thrash of the Big Four, and SLAYER in particular. The song ends on the kind of breakneck guitar solo one would expect from a band like HIGH COMMAND, and by this point listeners should be feeling pretty hyped.
Next up is Sword Of Wisdom. This one opens with ominous synths, as swords clash and thunder crashes in the background. The band gradually build with some driving riffing, dropping into a real headbanger of a groove before picking up the speed once again. This song feels stronger than its predecessor, with vocalist Kevin Fitzgerald giving a particularly impressive performance. Again HIGH COMMAND flit between groove heavy mid-paced sections and more straight-up thrashing, all tied together by some impressive guitar work and a tight rhythm section. The song ends with maniacal laughter and the sound of more clashing swords, and before you know it the whole EP is over.
In another sign of quality, Everlasting Torment was produced by Seth Manchester, known for his work with THE BODY, DAUGHTERS and METZ, among many others. Manchester also handled production duties on Beyond The Wall… Much like that record, he does a great job here, helping HIGH COMMAND to capture the classic thrash sound they’re obviously after.
There isn’t really much else to say about Everlasting Torment. With it HIGH COMMAND have given us two pretty good thrash metal tracks to add to their strong back catalogue. Neither are particularly ground-breaking. Nor is there anything that marks them out as massively different to what we heard on last year’s full-length. But neither of those things stop this EP from being an enjoyable little rager. Crucially, anyone looking for something to chase away the winter boredom for a while could do a lot worse than chucking this on for ten minutes of headbanging.
Rating: 7/10
Everlasting Torment is out now via Southern Lord Recordings.
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