EP Review: What A Wonderful World by Smile (Self Released)

Swiss heavy hardcore mob, Smile released their debut EP called What A Wonderful World on the 17th of April this year.

What A Wonderful World is entirely self released and has been mixed and mastered by Erik Bickerstaffe of Loathe. Smile are relatively new on the scene, having only formed in 2019. They are a 4 piece with Jonas on drums, Gauths on bass, Timo on vocals and Raph on guitars.

What a Wonderful World  opens with the track Disobedient. A little spoken word builds the track in as guitars start squealing feedback in the background. A catchy drum beat joins in as the guitars get louder before switching into a dark and oppressive riff. The spoken word continues before an explosion of furious vocals rips through you. All while the drums and bass pummel you relentlessly. Its a very dark, and very heavy start to What a Wonderful World.

Impunity has no time for messing about so comes straight out of the gates with a crunchy, metallic riff and pulsating drum rhythm. The vocals are menacing and dark and I love the stop start nature of the riff. The drop down into clean near spoken word is brilliant. It comes across really dark and impactful before a bit of a chaotic middle loses me for a bit. They pull it back at the end though a brief passage of insanely catchy blasts.

Agoge is a banger. The drums really stand out again. The pounding rhythms keep coming like a relentless attack that shakes you to your core. The vocals have lots of power and strength and there are some really neat ideas on show. The scratching stuff sounds absolutely brilliant. Ruined From Above is another really strong song. Again I love how they mix things up a bit, giving continuous heaviness throughout but with little flourishes like guitar squeals or switches in timing. There is a lot to like here.

We end on Guilt. I love the darker, blackened vocals in the intro. Musically, the riff jumps about quite a bit so it isn’t always easy to catch the rhythm but it’s mostly interesting and exciting. When it does all sync up for a bit, it’s intensely rewarding too. Music that makes you want to move and get into the pit though it is a lot harder to get into the flow of than the previous tracks.

Overall though, What a Wonderful World is a seriously impressive debut. Heavy as hell, full of bone crushing rhythms – this is music to release your anger too. Look out for Smile. They are sure to make an impact. I look forward to hearing more from them.

Get yourself a copy on Bandcamp here.

Smile Links

Facebook – Bandcamp – Instagram