Do you hate your life? Are you on the verge of a big break-up? Or do you just plain wish everyone was dead? If you said yes to any of these then your ears should not be treated to this record for fear of suicide or mass murder. Well actually fuck it listen to it anyways and submerse your ears into a wall of hardcore sound that which is Everything Went Black.

Everything Went Black are a blackened hardcore band from St. Louis, Missouri, By blackened I mean there’s no black metal kvlt mumbo jumbo going on here folks. This is straight in your face hardcore with a dreary undertone and hateful aesthetic; taking inspiration from notable bands such as Ringworm, Cursed, and Integrity.The record which is entitled Cycles of Light is a harrowing experience of frightening razor sharp riffs and throaty vocal atop blast beats and d-beat patterns. Oh and the audible bass is also extremely scary. Produced like poop yet everything is clear and audible. It’s blackened so it needs that raw sound and they nail it on this album.

Album opener “XI” is an instrumental base with an audio track part way through. The riffs lay low into eerie chords that when struck create a rather negative style of drone. The song eventually flows into “Gods of Atlantis.” Scorching hot riffs burn slowly until a fast paced punk explosion brings things to full speed. Crusty southern melodies make an uncanny appearance adding a groovy breakdown to end the piece.“Halo of Vultures” is a foray of classic metalcore meddling and rocking hardcore grooves. Wretched lyrics cave in any thought of happiness. “Lifeless” on the other hand is a full on hardcore blast of frustration, tremolo melodies eventually appear and bring a disgusting crust riff to rot away and devour our ears.“Parades” and “Kingdoms:” the two longest tracks on this short yet masterful record. “Parades” is a jarring experience of dissonant rhythms which bring an almost keen sense of putridity, while one’s ears are admitted an intense broken wailing that’s festered with cries from tortured lungs. A beautiful yet gloomy classical piece closes out the tune.“Kingdoms” on the other hand does however crank out a sort of happy riff in the beginning before the heaviness kicks into a slow post-metal sounding jam. Up tempo melodic hardcore mayhem makes its way in and for some reason gave me a With Honor vibe towards the end of its part. The song brings the melodic riffs back painting a desolate portrait of chaotic hardcore hate.

One of the coolest things I noticed about the record was there are a lot of times where chaotic technical riffs come out of nowhere and HOLY FUCK! Do those parts slay. “Thorn Feeders” and “Baptists” are two rough displays of unbalanced ferocity contained within just two minutes. Not so much technical as in progressive rather it’s a more extensive meandering of chaos: a whirlwind of hardcore punk savagery.

Now with this vocalist imagine a mix of The Hope Conspiracy and Black Flag coupled with the dark imagery of bands such as Ringworm and Cursed. The instrumentation also takes nods from the above but also adds ideas from Entombed as well as Dark Funeral. Finally the philosophical messages of hate and decay that spews forth into a clutter of poignant blasphemies are not just an all out attacks they’re more of a manifestation of masterfully designed evil.

Another perfect example of blackened hardcore done right. From the fast and righteous grooves to the evil sludgy stomps this band has created their masterpiece. Cycles of Light is a thought provoking journey that should appease fans of the aforementioned ones as well as the new bands on the scene such as Black Breath and Mammoth Grinder. So smoke a bowl and introduce one’s ears to some sick new tunes

[Visit the band's website]

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