Skumstrike – Execution Void

Label: Caligari Records
Release Date: 14/02/2020

Question: what happens when you get thrash metal, hardcore punk, a bit of crust and death metal, put it in a blender and spill the contents onto a mixing board?

Answer: you get Skumstrike’s Execution Void.

Now, let’s not mince words here: this isn’t your daddy’s metal. This is raw punk energy married to the unholy lovechild of punk and thrash riffs, laid over ferocious d-beats (with some room saved for blast beats) and angry, mean bass while being laid under abrasive, throat-ripping vocals. What this amounts to is 5 cuts of some of the filthiest, most ferocious, nearly grindcore-adjacent music you’ll find.

The bread and butter of Execution Void is punk played like thrash metal with occasional touches of near-black scattered throughout. If that sounds too confusing, here’s a better explanation: throughout this EP, Skumstrike churn out chord-abusing, grind-like riffs among more technical, nearly tremolo-picked thrashy ones: the track Thousand Eyes, for instance is comprised of both in equal measure and is rendered more effective because of it.

That isn’t to say that there is no variety in the songs themselves. Quite to the conrary, songs often start one way, move to different pastures before coming full circle. A perfect example of this is The Deserter that starts in a punky, rockin’ riffs, but gradually moves away from this to blacker pastures before circling back. The ability of the band to move you through such angry, high-adrenaline music is to be admired.

However, despite not being one-note, a distinct lack of variance overall rears its ugly head. Execution Void is not the most varied album you will hear this year or any other. The blend it comes up with may be interesting (which it is) but the opener Filth and the second track The Deserter basically put onto display all the tricks that you will hear on the EP. If they hadn’t kept things moving, it might’ve resulted in a rather bad stall, but as it stands, the band’s passion and ferocity steamrolls over all that.

Ultimately, Skumstrike ‘s music is designed to thrill and to speed like nobody’s business. With well-rounded, suitably raw production, a meticulous blend of influences and tight songwriting, Execution Void is highly recommended to anyone who likes the aforementioned genres, or just wants something hard and fast. Watch out for this band. Recommended.

Line-Up:
Z.S. – Drums and percussion, vocals.
L.A. – Guitars

01. Filth
02. The Deserter
03. Lethal Injection
04. Thousand Eyes
05. The Lie

Skumstrike on Facebook
Execution Void on Bandcamp