Homewrecker's most recent EP, Extinction By Design, is their heaviest and most precise release to date. Hot off the heels of a blistering four-way split with the likes of Gatecreeper and Scorched, this EP consolidates the thicker elements of their sound into a fast-paced and complex suite of songs. The band now lean more noticeably on death metal influences, favouring pummelling double-kick rhythms and agile triplets over d-beats.
This isn't to say this record lacks dynamic range, however. Homewrecker manage to work in non-sequitur tempo drops and graceful interludes that give the listener a chance to catch their breath. "Prophet Liar" features several bars of ominous clean guitar arpeggios that are uncharacteristically pretty before galloping away on a flurry of downtuned power-chord riffs.
While the band's previous works tended to weave in and out of sludgy hardcore and crossover thrash, Extinction By Design synthesizes these styles into one dizzying assault. Guttural vocals spit lyrical themes of extinction and torture in deep-throated snarls; guitars skulk through menacing pedal-point charges that turn on a dime. Closing track "Path of Terror" even features a sub-bass bomb that wouldn't be out of place over a late-2000s metalcore breakdown.
It feels like Homewrecker are trading a sense of atmosphere and tension for a more direct, aggressive sound that piles more content into less time. This works to their advantage, particularly on the EP format, where they prove they have enough ideas to make a 13-minute-long release sound simultaneously overwhelming and engaging.
(Good Fight)This isn't to say this record lacks dynamic range, however. Homewrecker manage to work in non-sequitur tempo drops and graceful interludes that give the listener a chance to catch their breath. "Prophet Liar" features several bars of ominous clean guitar arpeggios that are uncharacteristically pretty before galloping away on a flurry of downtuned power-chord riffs.
While the band's previous works tended to weave in and out of sludgy hardcore and crossover thrash, Extinction By Design synthesizes these styles into one dizzying assault. Guttural vocals spit lyrical themes of extinction and torture in deep-throated snarls; guitars skulk through menacing pedal-point charges that turn on a dime. Closing track "Path of Terror" even features a sub-bass bomb that wouldn't be out of place over a late-2000s metalcore breakdown.
It feels like Homewrecker are trading a sense of atmosphere and tension for a more direct, aggressive sound that piles more content into less time. This works to their advantage, particularly on the EP format, where they prove they have enough ideas to make a 13-minute-long release sound simultaneously overwhelming and engaging.