UK death metallers release their debut album, Agonist.

As The World Dies came together very recently, formed by members of the bands Memoriam and Pemphigoid. They play a brand of heavy metal that will smash you senseless with its integration of classic elements and contemporaneous existentialism. This new album is riveting. The musicians are Jay Price (vocals), Ash Cotterill (guitars, vocals), Bill Richmond (bass), Chris McGrath (drums), and Scott Fairfax (guitar).

“Annulment” cracks the egg with a splendid swelling approach that warms the engines for the first full-on assault. Second is “Desolate,” and it is a paint peeler that strips your selfness away. The death metal cataclysm pulls back now and then to give you a minute to assess the damage but not long enough to really do anything about it. I don’t know if “Dawn Of Terror” is meant to strike fear in your heart with its opening bars, but it certainly is ominous. The vocals are similar to the previous track but – you can hear the similarity – somehow here they are eerier.

“Red Death” allows an understanding wall of doom explain to you from the start what the situation is going. Melodic in a way, it is also as heavy as the boulders of the Titans and it works an effective tempo shift into the set. Bringing forth “The Tempest” at this juncture is the perfect selection because the groundwork has been laid for fear and drama. This one could be my favorite track, but it does have strong competition.

With this record, you never can fully anticipate what will be next. You get into a place where you are ready for it based on the music you have already heard, but each new track has a critical menace you didn’t know you would hear. The bitter end is the band’s namesake, “As The World Dies.” If you are going to name a song after yourself, you need to step it up a notch. Think about the bands that have done that successfully – it is a harrowing list. This time it definitely works. The growling vocals and crushing guitars on display here will easily stand the test of time.

The debut album from As The World Dies is an exceptional introduction for a band with a promising future. It is death metal with a doom influence and a confident, steady attitude. This album is an early 2022 winner. Highly recommended.

Agonist appears on Friday, March 25^th from Transcending Obscurity Records. Check out the label’s US store website or Bandcamp at the links below to see all the variants and merch available.

Links.

As The World Dies website, https://www.astheworlddies.co.uk/

Bandcamp, https://astheworlddies.bandcamp.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/BrumDeathMetal

Transcending Obscurity Records, https://transcendingobscurity.aisamerch.com/

© Wayne Edwards. All rights reserved.