EP Review: Wasted Death – Ugly As Hell II: Uglier Than Hell (APF Records)

Gutter punk metal band, Wasted Death will release their sophomore EP ‘Ugly As Hell II – Uglier Than Hell’ on the 13th August 2021 via APF Records.

Landing just four months after their debut EP Ugly as Hell (released by APF Records on 9th April), Charlie Davis says:

We reckon we’ve done it again on Ugly As Hell II: Uglier As Hell. The strings are all tuned to the same note, the drums are barrelling past at semi-legal speeds and the vocals are popping veins left right and centre. It’s another great big slap in the chops.

This time we’ve ramped it up and broadened the influences. It’s our thrashed-up, snot-nosed punk/metal vibe, landing somewhere between Extreme Noise Terror and Converge and the Melvins, but this time the energy levels are cranked, the contempt is as virulent as ever and the tunes go in even weirder directions. Whether it’s injecting some High on Fire barbarism or some mean Amphetamine Reptile-style angularity, things here have developed into a more interesting beast with a more varied set of influences while retaining the same bat-shit wildness that makes Wasted Death what it is.

This time it’s not just ugly: it’s hit-every-branch-on-the-way-down, fully minging, totally hopeless fugliness.

Even more ugliness from Wasted Death. Sign us up. We thoroughly enjoyed the first EP, calling it:

Grinding metal mashing the brain matter into mush with punk snarl to make you feel like you’ve literally been chewed up and spat out. Savage stuff.

So, to the surprise of literally no-one, Ugly As Hell II – Uglier Than Hell is another slice of noisy metal savagery, warped by the punk sensibilities of a band filled to the brim with infectious and riotous anger.

Wasted Death make no apologies for the type of music they make and the opening chaos of Tomorrows Children Will Eat Algae is proof of that. Following that, and without sounding any less ‘chill’, Brawn Flakes does have a more rhythmic structure. Before Telling People What to Wear gets really dirty and uncouth sounding. Easy enough for a band that revels in the ‘uncouth’.

The last short one before Wasted Death throw caution to the wind is the sneering beast of punk-infused noise that is Extensively Vetted. A short circle-pit inducing track, if there ever was one. Take a breath though as Wasted Death then drop a near-five-minute head-banger with Nothing I Want Less.

An opportunity for the noise-mongers to show off their talents as they take their time and show off just how aggressive and detailed that they can be. All while still sounding as disorderly as always.

Progression from the first EP while not moving too far away from their core sound. Can it get any uglier? We shall see with what comes next!

Wasted Death – Ugly As Hell II – Uglier Than Hell Full Track Listing:

1. Tomorrows Children Will Eat Algae
2. Brawn Flakes
3. Telling People What To Wear
4. Extensively Vetted
5. Nothing I Want Less

Links

Bandcamp | APF Records