EP Review: Beyond Extinction – Nothing More Wretched (Deluxe Anniversary Edition) (Dead Species Records)

Essex four-piece Beyond Extinction celebrate the anniversary of their second EP, ‘Nothing More Wretched’, with this extended edition. It will be released on March 29th, 2024, via Dead Species Records.

Beyond Extinction have also announced a poignant tribute show to their late guitarist, Zach Scott, who passed away in August 2023. Raising awareness for the alarming rate of male suicide in the UK, this heartfelt event takes place on 17th August 2024 in The Underworld, London, and sees a line-up consisting of bands that Zach toured and worked closely with over the years, including Beyond Extinction, Godeater, Glower, Bitterwood, Existentialist, Dygora, How Long Have You Been Driving, and headliners Osiah.

Alongside the bands performing, all proceeds and donations will go towards three charities chosen by Zach’s family to raise awareness and funds to support individuals grappling with mental health challenges: Young Minds, Help Musicians, and CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably).

Tickets available here.
Donations here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/never-forget-your-own-for-zach-scott

You won’t have to look far to find someone impressed with rise of Beyond Extinction, such is their impressive growth over the past few years. The catalyst for this growth is more than just heavy as f**k death metal though. Having absolutely wrecked everyone who has been in the same room as them when they play live. They’re young, they’re hungry, and they have the talent to stand out from the heavy-focused pack.

Don’t believe me? This Deluxe Anniversary Edition will convince you that Beyond Extinction are comfortably part of the future of this scene.

The EP is here in full, five tracks and an intro, but it now comes with an additional two tracks; Reverse Life Support and Posthuman. Two nasty bangers that show the refinement that Beyond Extinction have got now and shows that their heavy sound is just getting ghastlier. Before those tracks though, I have to talk about the original EP.

While it didn’t get a review on this site at the time, it has been played a lot of over the past twelve months. It is a beast of a record, with some of the grimmest sounding metal going. Each track hits with the force of a meteorite slamming into the planet, and it demands head-banging from the first moment to the very last. Vitriolic? That’s an understatement. Yet, what truly marks this EP, and Beyond Extinction, out as something different in the world of heavy music, is how they push and pull the music in unexpected directions, all while layering in dark cinematic elements.

The original EP is phenomenal, but how about the two new tracks? They might both be under three minutes, but they both deliver a hefty amount of brutality. Reverse Life Support might be Beyond Extinction at their foulest sounding, whereas Posthuman is crashing carnage of the most guttural kind. F**king grin inducing heaviness.

Beyond Extinction – Nothing More Wretched (Deluxe Anniversary Edition) Track Listing:

1. Warmth of the Empty Light
2. The Subjugator
3. Nothing More Wretched
4. Gravedigger
5. Eyes of God Look Dow Upon Me
6. Plague Monarch
7. Reverse Life Support
8. Posthuman

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