End Of Everything
End Of Everything are a band who wasted no time in getting right into the fat and juicy thick of all things fat and juicy upon forming back in Glasgow in 2004. Within a year they’d gigged with the likes of Fear Factory, Johnny Truant, Lamb Of God, Pelican and Cult of Luna, and also had a slot on the Taste of Chaos tour. In fact, such was the bond formed with Cult Of Luna drummer Magnus Lindberg that he produced their debut album “Three”, which was released through Casket Music in 2006. Now, doesn’t that make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside?
Cut to 2009 and the four boys who make up End Of Everything, specifically Gareth Gordon (vocals), Joe Cooper (guitar), Gareth Ellis (bass), and Andy Brown (drums), have just released their follow-up album titled “A Man Made Sun”, in which they’ve taken the prog/death metal template established on their first album and upped the ante a tad. Heavier, faster and leaner than it’s predecessor, which featured mid-paced rhythms and riffs and a little ambience thrown in for shits and giggles, this is what happens when End Of Everything trim the fat. The same elements and textures which saw their sound compared to Mastodon, Isis and The Dillinger Escape Plan are still there, but this time around the fury is devastatingly direct, delivered with seemingly unstoppable intent.
Opener ‘Glutton’ grinds like a rabid anti-anthem - stomping, furious and humourless, and what follows on the next five tracks is a cold-hearted example of what happens when you take the aesthetics of death metal and combine them with thick, guitar-driven rhythms and a darkly prog sensibility. These guys seem indifferent to following conventions and the result is the sonic equivalent to a Black Hole; unrelenting, controlled chaos.
‘Concrete Smile’ chugs forward led by a staccato guitar riff constantly looping in on itself, dragging the drums and everything else along with it, and Gareth's screams and growls add another scathing dimension to the heavy production. The atmosphere and tension builds up gradually with each song and by the end of title track ‘A Man Made Sun’ this collection of dynamic, no-nonsense mania feels like its about to undergo gravitational collapse.
The militaristic precision of ‘Severance’ is compounded by the rapidly fired blastbeats, but underneath the spitting punk-rock vitriol and marauding rhythms an eerie melodrama lies biding its time, finally rising up at intervals during ‘Internal Eclipse’ as a taunting paradox to the righteous rage and rawness of the previous four songs.
With the last track ‘Benevolent Red Winter’ clocking in at a paltry 12 minutes 45 seconds, the sublimely hypnotic ending allows the preceding 20 minutes’ tension to finally be cast adrift like supernovae remnant, demonstrating End Of Everything’s ability to confound the listener with above average metal which is both primal and majestic, ugly and beautiful.