How do you make an already stellar release better? Reissue it along with a couple of new singles, that’s how! To celebrate the first anniversary of their sophomore EP Nothing More Wretched, Essex death metallers Beyond Extinction come back swinging with a deluxe edition which adds extra weight to an already hefty listen and marks the band as ones to watch in 2024.
Released in tribute to the band’s guitarist Zach Scott who passed away (aged just 20) in 2023, Nothing More Wretched makes a fitting epitaph and reminds us of what a tragic loss his passing was, yet it also finds the band finding strength in adversity and bravely facing the future by way of the new tracks. We reviewed the original release of Nothing More Wretched’ (here) so there’s no need to rehash our words, suffice to say that time has only increased its charms. Nothing More Wretched is given much of it’s power via a multi-faceted production, and revisiting it after a year means there are new surprises to be revealed deep in the mix that are bubbling to the surface on successive spins. Time has been very kind to this release, and it’s sure to sound fresh many years hence.
It’s the two new tracks which prove most illuminating on this set; first up is ‘Reverse Life Support’. Featuring a guest spot from Harbinger vocalist Dilan Alves, this cut is a brutal slab of death metal which features the band’s double dropped tuning which attaches itself like an anchor to a drowning man. The combination of Dilan’s unearthly growl to Beyond Extinction’s trademark punch makes for a marriage made in metal heaven (or purgatory?) and could floor even the most hardened metalhead. ‘Posthuman’ is the second new track and finds the band moving forwards whilst simultaneously retaining their roots; there’s some neat ideas here in terms of drum patterns and vocal lines, and such is the song’s power that the silence that follows its conclusion becomes a gaping chasm.
Beyond Extinction will play a tribute show to the departed Zach Scott to raise awareness about male suicide. The show will take place on 17th August 2024 at London’s Underworld venue and will feature band who Zach toured and worked with over the years including. Tickets are available here.
- Nothing More Wretched (Deluxe Anniversary Edition) is released on 29th March 2024 and is available here.
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Track List:
- Warmth Of The Empty Light
- The Subjugator
- Nothing More Wretched
- Gravedigger
- Eyes Of God Look Down Upon Me
- Plague Monarch
- Reverse Life Support
- Posthuman
