EP Review: Going Off – Kill List (Church Road Records)

Determined to keep the energy flowing right up till the very end of 2023, and to show a glimpse of what’s to come in 2024, hardcore upstarts Going Off will unleash their new EP ‘Kill List’ on December 1st, 2023, via Church Road Records.

If you’ve been following Going Off’s year so far, you’ll be very familiar with most of this EP. The band has released a slew of singles, and now, it’s time for them all to come together on Kill List. A cacophony of hardcore fury, intensity, and relatability.

Pure worrisome aggression, that’s what listeners will experience with the opening track Crossroads. A little over a minute of bubbling rage that inevitably spills over into two-stepping chaos. Take a quick and sharp breath, as Pay the Price has a raw and wicked pacey groove. Yet, hold on to your ass, as around the 40-second mark it switches completely, seemingly about to go into the maddest breakdown ever. Yet, interestingly, Going Off hold back and just deliver filthy and slow heaviness. It will make you gurn.

Although, that is not exclusive to that track only, as Teeth will leave you feeling as though yours have just been knocked out. Going Off are at their snarling and snarky best here, delivering one of 2023’s most disgustingly slow breakdowns.

Then there is Weak Links, a faster and more ‘in your face’ slice of rough sounding hardcore noise. If you’re not feeling the ‘meanness’ of this EP yet, you will here. Especially as the stomping power of Smile, and the vigorous coarseness of Bed of Concrete will make the crowd-killers extremely happy.

Going Off are a revelation in the hardcore scene and this EP is the personification of how savage a more ‘traditional’ approach can be. The dynamic of this band is enough to turn even the heads of the most ardent naysayer of hardcore. With further proof of Going Off’s quality coming from the frenzied Better Than Me and the dark expulsion of grim noise that comes from Servant to the Skin. It’s hilarious that this finale is the longest track on the EP at a little over two minutes.

That’s the Going Off way though, get in, f**k things up, get out. Leaving everyone who encountered them bloody, bruised, dazed, a bit in love.

Going Off – Kill List Track Listing:

1. Crossroads
2. Pay the Price
3. Teeth
4. Weak Links
5. Smile
6. Bed of Concrete
7. Better Than Me
8. Servant to the Skin

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | Church Road Records