With a band name like Extortionist, you instantly know they aren’t messing around. I’ve watched enough true crime documentaries to know when you’re going to get tangled up with someone you shouldn’t. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, this band gives you exactly what you want and expect – raw, merciless and unforgiving music. Looking at the cover art and their logo, one would be expecting a run of the mill deathcore/metalcore band, but they are far from fitting into any mold.
Musically, the band has various influences shining through their music. They somehow manage to mesh downtempo deathcore to grunge infused metal. I mean, they are from the birthplace of grunge so why not pay homage? The tracks entwine atmosphere, brutality, and energy. The album opens with the title track “Stare Into The Seething Wounds” which sounds like it would be on any alternative playlist from the 90s. Track two, “Aftermath Of Broken Glass” kicks in and is a nonstop assault of deathcore that would make you rip your favorite flannel in the pit. Follow that up with the next track, “The Break I Couldn’t Mend”, which sounds like a nu-metal anthem ready for any mosh pit. As the album continues, it keeps you guessing on what it will offer next.
The vocals range from gutturals, screams, and clean singing. The lyrics touch on trauma, wounds, and untended pain. Suggestions on how to reflect on damage and how it scars you, even if you try to hide it. They plead with the listener to move on from the past and not to be pulled back into old wounds. This isn’t a comfort record to put on while sipping a pumpkin spice latte this October. It’s one you play when you want the hurt to feel honest, when the weight of what you’ve ignored finally demands notice.
This is their second album with Unique Leader Records, and the band continues to push the envelope into new territory. Stare Into The Seething Wounds weaves heavy riffs, layered vocals, and daunting cadences together. The band takes you on an audio journey that fans of everything from Alice in Chains to Slipknot to Lorna Shore will enjoy at times.
Extortionist delivers heavy riffs with ethereal undercurrents. They leaned more into textures on this offering than maybe in their past albums. The tracks “Aftermath Of Broken Glass” (nonstop deathcore mosh) and “Starve” (a nu-metal two-step banger) really stand out on this release for me mainly due to them embracing their heavy side. However, these drastic mixes of melody and extreme heaviness can lose clarity and emotional punch for me with the transitions feeling a bit jarring. It softens the edges that makes their heaviness bite like rusted teeth. Overall though, it’s a solid powerful album that fans of experimental nu-metal tinged heaviness should dive into.
