Higher Walls – No End | EP Review

A scathing, metallic hardcore blast that looks to take London crew Higher Walls to a whole new level while leaning further into their violent, acerbic brand of chaos.

In the midst of modern metalcore and soulless attempts to recreate the sound of bands that nobody even liked in the first place, there are bands who’s influences extend to good bands, bands who’s sound touched the edge of extreme metal while still remaining in metallic hardcore. Bands like Nails, Cursed and Trap Them imprinted their nihilistic, blistering style of music onto so many and to see it rear it’s fearsome head in newer bands is truly heartwarming. Formed during that ever so uplifting and hopeful of years in 2020, Higher Walls came out of the gate with a sound that took the ferocious, often surprisingly technical blasts of the aforementioned bands and blended it with the style and swagger of more straightforward propositions like Madball and Terror.The bands early releases were promising, with neck-vein bulging vocal performances from Jordan Kaad and riffs that threatened to imprint their way onto your bones with a chisel. Judging from their newest effort, they’ve only got more intense on No End.

Kicking off with ‘History’s Eyes’, it’s all guns blazing from the off. Blending sheer chaos with a lumbering, almost evil undercurrent, it’s a wild introduction to things but you get almost all of the bands elements in one blast. Violent, emotive and the on edge intensity of spilling someone’s pint in a flatroof pub all rolled into one auditory experience. The riff of ‘Cloak and Dagger’ has more than a touch of Gojira about it, with a groove and stomp that is incredibly satisfying, before the eyeball melting blastbeats and addictive two stepping of ‘Thorns’ comes into play.

It’s all well and good having influential bands as your guiding lights but the real test of a band is when you elevate and twist those building blocks into something different, and that’s what Higher Walls have done here. Sprinkles of Coalesce and All Pigs Must Die are given a modern flair and ultimately, Higher Walls end up sounding like themselves in the end. Of their more recent peers, this is a perhaps akin to bands like Burner, albeit lighter on the death metal. The pointed political lyrics hit the mark, at times having a touch of punk and Gallows (Specifically Grey Britain era) about them. The closing barrage of “Yes this is class War and we’re on the front lines, yes this is class War and we’re on the losing side” is one that isn’t just meant to strike a chord, but to inspire and make you want to react.

Higher Wall’s have built upon their early promise and here, they’ve made something that could be described as special. For a label with the pedigree of Church Road to take a chance shows their promise and it surely won’t be long before they’re on some pretty reckless tour packages. The hints at sounds that could take them even higher (Wahey) are tantalizing but it’s the white knuckle, barely contained fury that will keep you coming back for more.