2023-07-09 07:00:16
(c) Blake Roemer
During the first lockdown, longtime Integrity guitarist Domenic Romeo went through a particularly creative phase. He would write a song a day and send it to friends to make a personal mixtape of sorts. One of those tracks went to All Out War’s Mike Score. The result was so good that Romeo pushed more and more numbers his way until a band was formed. Complemented by Adam Jarvis (Pig Destroyer, Misery Index, Lock Up), Art Legere (ex Bloodlet) and Sebastian Phillips (Noisem, Exhumed), were End Reign born. The firstborn „The Way Of All Flesh Is Decay“ sounds like a hussar ride through particularly rancid hardcore and metal landscapes of the 80s.
Some noise, an ominous voice and a rotten guitar create a menacing mood. After a minute, there’s another cold start: “Desolate Fog” as an opener is aimed at destruction and makes that immediately clear. Score roars and yells in absolute top form, the instrumentation between metallic-spotted hardcore, thrash and crust seems hectic, raw and unpolished – in the best sense, mind you, because in connection with the omnipresent darkness a real test of anger arises. The following “Chaos Masked As Order” further increases the number of hits, acts like an unbridled blow to the pit of the stomach, and also takes time for oppressive breakdowns.
This record continues in a similar vein, with “Serpent Messiah” becoming a real groove treat. Menacing gestures, heavy concrete, noticeable grant, occasional thrash eruptions – sometimes it can be so simple. Shorter, more direct episodes like the raw “Chasing Divinity” and the back-to-back “Divine Abysmal End” emanate danger at every second. Ominous shifts and sprints from a standing start dissect everything. Even the big finale “The Night Creeps Upon Me” is above all nasty and grueling – psychological terror to the bitter end.
In the tradition of Amebix, Slayer and Discharge, charmingly rugged abysses open up: End Reign find their own way in well-known areas and add a fresh, decidedly rough chapter to it. What was conjured up here from supposed occupational therapy knows how to entertain, is mangy and uncompromising, retro and timeless at the same time. The Way Of All Flesh Is Decay lives up to its name, tearing it all apart with growing enthusiasm. What a board.
Rating: 8/10
Available from: 07/14/2023
Available via: Relapse Records (membrane)
Facebook: www.facebook.com/theendreign
Category: Magazin, Reviews
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#Reign #Flesh #Decay
