The line-up of this band is interesting, comprising members with a mix of influences from other bands, including All Out War, Pig Destroyer, Misery Index and Exhumed. Described as a fusion of “apocalyptic hardcore with vicious metal”, the band members take inspiration from older bands like Bathory and Slayer while also calling on a modern metalcore base.

It’s true that there’s a mix of old and new. The opening song “Desolate Fog” has the blastbeating, creepy and raw atmosphere of 90s black metal but the energy of thrash and modern hardcore. It’s an effective mix. The vocalist Mike Score, known for his long-standing involvement with New York metalcore band All Out War, is as hard-hitting and angry as you’d expect. Breakdowns stand upon melodic death-thrash metal and that blackened metal vibe on “Chaos Masked as Order”. It is further enhanced by a spine-chilling spoken section. This comes at you from all angles. The dark clang of church bells can be heard in the background of the deep and heavy “The Hunger”. Again it could be argued that it’s black metal akin to Khold or deathly hardcore but who cares? This is powerful and addictive like strong black coffee. The tempo is stepped up for the thrashier and even punkish “Divine Abysmal End”. Score spews vomit. Drums hammer, the bass provides the undercurrent and the energy is dark and vibrant. The screams and ugliness make this the music of windswept and dangerous alleys. “Serpent Messiah” screams Score harshly and intently. Now End Reign tread dangerous territory, advancing slowly so as not to miss any victims on the way. It’s dirty and even has eerie sound effects. And there are plenty of those at the start of “House of Thieves”, before it develops into rampant and exhilarating thrash. After this rapid breath of air comes the more measured “Giving Life to Tragedy”. The guitar tone is ponderous. Score, aided by reverberating sound effects, squawks out venom. The guitar heads off into a melancholic solo. It’s harsh and powerful, but “Giving Life to Tragedy” is the polar opposite of “House of Thieves”. The black metal vibe returns on the menacing “Chasing Divinity” but disappears by the next song, the metalcore “When Death Comes Crawling”. This paves the way for the final grooving melodic hardcore metal piece “The Night Creeps Upon Me”.

End Reign have a lot of weapons at their disposal, and use them on this album. I particular liked the songs where metalcore was superimposed on a black metal base. Broadly this is a melodic metalcore album with all the associated adrenaline and rage, but instrumentally speaking, no particular stylistic pattern is followed. There’s no bad song but some, I found, had more interesting structures than others. That’s normal. What is most striking about “The Way of All Flesh and Decay” is its relentless energy and power.

(8/10 Andrew Doherty)

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https://theendreign.bandcamp.com/album/the-way-of-all-flesh-is-decay