Virginia’s Destruct and Toronto’s Absolut finally realise a longstanding aspiration to join forces, contributing three new tracks each to this split EP.

‘They deliberate, And feed your dreams, With their desire, For mass corruption’ (Truth In The Lie)

Destruct have been on impressively prolific form since the release of their second full-length, 2023’s Cries The Mocking Mother Nature.  With admirable consistency, they have since released a series of excellent splits – Screaming Death (a four-way split album with Dissekerad, Rat Cage, and Scarecrow), To Stop The Conflict (a split 12-inch with Life), and a split 7-inch with Svaveldioxid, before this latest collaboration with Absolut.

It will come as no surprise that the band’s trademark onslaught is fully present and correct, brutally fusing their metallic crust and raw punk inspirations.  The relentless waves of discordant riffage and barrage of d-beat rhythms form a seething backdrop to the roared denunciations of a political system rooted inextricably in militarised violence and economic greed.  My personal highlight is Non-P.N.W.  The midway point when they lock into a fierce cymbal awash groove is particularly killer.

‘Burning light, Stains the eyes, Tanks roll through, Innocence buried under, A new home, You saw it happen’ (S.I.H.)

Absolut have been unleashing their battery of d-beat fuelled raw punk for over a decade now, previously collaborating with the likes Paranoid and Svaveldioxid.  Their contributions are a savage blend of barked, echo drenched vocals and brightly flamboyant metallic solos amid the surging distortion as they confront the willingness of many to turn a blind eye to the horrors that surround us.  It is an uncompromising blend that lands with a particular velocity on the bludgeoning intensity of Otherside.