Band:	End (USA)
Album:	Splinters From An Ever​-​Changing Face
Style:	Hardcore, Metalcore
Release date:	June 2020

01. Covet Not
02. Pariah
03. Absence
04. The Reach Of Resurrection
05. Fear For Me Now
06. Hesitation Wounds
07. Captive To My Curse
08. Evening Arms
09. An Apparition
10. Every Empty Vein
11. Sands Of Sleep

Not to be mistaken with Greek black metal outfit End, End (USA) is a metalcore group made up of Counterparts, Fit For An Autopsy and Misery Signals (among others) members. They waste no time on Splinters From An Ever​-​Changing Face to prove just how vicious they can be.

Following up their 2017 EP, From The Unforgiving Arms of God, End (USA) are technically a supergroup of sorts, probably the reason why I gave them more attention in the first place, but they do exemplify the reason why I like metalcore more and more lately, at least partly. While I'm still far from the biggest metalcore/deathcore stan, I found myself enjoying more and more the later releases by some of the biggest names in the scene (except the actual biggest names). While I'm not as much into Counterparts and Misery Signals, I became a pretty big fan of Fit For An Autopsy, especially after reviewing their latest album. And while Splinters From An Ever​-​Changing Face does have enough similarities to that, and ones that I am very fond of, but also enough to set it apart.

For one, look at that despair inducing grotesque cover art by Adam Burke. I wouldn't call this album as much despair-inducing, but if the cover art does have something in common with the music, it's that Splinters From An Ever​-​Changing Face is a pretty terrifying hardcore album. There is a lot that is distinct from the metalcore of the 2000s, with it being more in line with both the atmospheric already mentioned Fit For An Autopsy album, as well as something completely vitriolic and bludgeoning like latest Leeched. Obviously this isn't just a blend of already existing bands, but it feels like the continuation of these sounds that were becoming prevalent in hardcore music.

Splinters From An Ever​-​Changing Face is atmospheric mostly through the dense and suffocating production, that paired with the intensity of the music, barely lets the listener breathe. There are enough moments in between that set a sort of ambiance, but they're never free of the tension already established, and even those can't stop the album from feeling relentless and unstoppable. Though not really having as much in common with grindcore, the music here is extremely fast, fairly short by metalcore standards, and it never wastes any moment, and at points it does quite sound like the deathcore version of Napalm Death. There are a lot of bludgeoning moments that do sound more akin to either death metal or industrial or even some black-metal like blast beats, but everything is passed through a heavy hardcore filter, so chugs and breakdowns galore. And in its relatively short runtime, it doesn't really feel like it repeats itself or lingers too long. The longest track, the closer, is also the slowest and most atmospheric, thus making Splinters From An Ever​-​Changing Face perfectly encapsulate what I like about metalcore in the first place.

End (USA) know how to make metalcore that is both bludgeoning and atmospheric, and how to keep it concise enough. Rarely does a 30-minute album feel this grand.