‘Facade is complete so long as they, Question not too late, What do you think it stands for? Signs of life appear in clearer eyes’ (Permanent Resistance)

Philadelphia’s Bequest call on a rich hardcore heritage, spanning the likes of Dark Thoughts, The Ire, and Kinetic Orbital Strike.  The trio are all members of the latter, and while their latest project draws the kernel of its inspiration from K.O.S., the breadth of their wider lineage also vividly manifests itself throughout On Hills Will Death Play, their debut release.

Waves of darkly metallic, blown out riffage lock in with agitated anarcho-punk inspired rhythms and crasher crust’s unabashed love of the cymbal.  Meanwhile, the barked, semi-shouted vocals – enriched by some deftly judged rhythmic death grunts – contemplate a world mired in a cycle of militarised violence, economic oppression, and climatic degradation.  The spectre of our own knowing complicity in this cycle of despair is laced throughout.

These elements are expertly marshalled, with each of the seven tracks brimming with both a barrelling ferocity and a tautly honed songcraft.  From the surging opener, Permanent Resistance to the utterly sledgehammer grooves of Metal Fuming Fever, and then from the venomously choppy of Pecking Order to the crushing climax of Volition, Bequest land their blows with a savage, surgical precision.