Long Island’s Extinction A.D. are a band who never do things by halves. Fusing a brutal blend between ’90s thrash metal and bruising hardcore, the New Yorkers deliver every body of work they have done in the past with hellish heaviness and a no-holding-back attitude. On their latest release, ‘Culture of Violence’, the band continue to bulldoze their way through ten tracks with the utmost ferocity.
As an album, ‘Culture of Violence’ serves as the follow up to previous releases ‘Decimation Treaty’ and ‘Faithkiller’, picking up the pace where the previous two albums left off and not slowing down for one split second. On title track and LP opener ‘Culture of Violence’, the song kickstarts into immediate action with a borage of thrashing guitars and riled up vocals warning that “The end is near” by the time it reaches its chorus. As the track progresses, the mid-tempo pace quickly turns for a slower breakdown, which segues into an epic guitar solo courtesy of Ian Cimaglia.
Keeping the momentum firing on all cylinders, ‘Dominion’ is far more brutal than ‘Culture of Violence’ it has to be said; a searing combo of chomping bass, powerful double bass drums and relentless riffs break the speed limit throughout the entirety of the track. As for the gang style vocals that lace certain sections of the song, they bring even more heat to an already very hot kitchen.
While the next track ‘Thirteen’ brings a little bit of catchiness to proceedings, singles ‘Mastic’ and ‘1992’ have other ideas. The first, ‘Mastic’ cannot contain its constant tempo changes, switching between the slow bursts of ferocity to full on carnage in its faster moments. The second, ‘1992’ captures every element of hardcore and thrash metal that Extinction A.D. do best, the hardcore shouts coming from Rick Jimenez paired with the wild and untameable trash metal guitars. ‘1992’ is perhaps the most soul crushing song on this record.
‘Star Spangled Banner’ is a head bang worthy tune – everything from its classic metal clangs to the abrasive and harsh band vocals that have everything to shout and scream about. This is a band who have confidence and a savage outlook on the harsh realities life has thrown at the world over the past couple of years, and Extinction A.D. convey that with an unapologetic attitude.
Closer ‘Natural Disaster’, despite being the albums closer, definitely does not slam on the breaks whatsoever. It only puts its feet down on the accelerator, just as much as opener ‘Culture Of Violence’. Delivering one final hit of energy, ‘Natural Disaster’ – and the entirety of ‘Culture of Violence’ for that matter – is one hell of a riotous time. Extinction A.D. continue to thrash just as hard as their predecessors here, with an album that barely gives you any room to breathe.
KATIE CONWAY-FLOOD