Deathcore is in a really good place right now. Some may scoff at the idea of deathcore leading any kind of charge in the metal world, but you’ve got to face facts; deathcore bands are crushing it. Those looking down on deathcore like it’s the new nu-metal and feel it’s cool to hate it are missing out on some of the heaviest and most disgusting music ever created. Leading the charge are Unique Leader Records, who’s roster boasts a plethora of young and upcoming Deathcore bands in the industry. If it’s on Unique Leader, you know full well it’s going to be filthy. One such band on their roster is Sydney noise-makers, To The Grave. After bursting onto the scene with their No Lives Matter EP, they quickly became notable within the genre and released their full-length debut Global Warning in 2019. It garnered near-unanimous praise and featured seismic riffs and breakneck drumming all mixed with lyrics aimed at enlightening the world of its misguided failures. Their follow up, Epilogue, takes that same ideology but improves on its songwriting and is an exhibition in how to organically improve your sound. One look at the tracklisting would reveal an 18-track album, that’s over an hour of Deathcore. Do not despair! Epilogue is actually their previous effort Global Warning remastered and featuring some of their friends from within the scene on vocal duties and 7 brand new tracks (and 1 cover). If you’re thinking that’s too much for a deathcore album, you would be correct. If you have already heard their previous effort, perhaps just skip to the newer tracks and if you are unfamiliar with their work, it would be wise to listen to a few standouts (this must include ‘Ecocide’ and ‘Wastage’ at least). While the remastered tracks are better quality than before, the real deal kicks off with ‘Hear Evil, See Evil’. The jump in quality is noticeable from the start. These new tracks are even heavier and filled with unrivalled hate than anything the band has put together before. From the beginning of ‘Miserable Summer’ to the outro of ‘Recoil in Horror’, you are hit with an assault on the senses. ‘Rec’s’ mind-bending riffs open up to a horrifically heavy section that showcases the ridiculous calf strength of Simon O’Malley on the drums. The throat-ripping vocals from Dane Evans makes you wonder how any human can make such noises as he flips from high pitched squeals to ground shattering lows in a heartbeat. The band make it a lot less obvious which direction they’re taking with these newer tracks which has been known to be a downfall of the genre. The seismic breakdowns are still quite predictable but when they hit, you’re struck with such force you won’t care and they sure as hell don’t care about you. Epilogue is an album that is filled with utter filth. While it suffers from being overly long due to it being released with older repackaged material, the new tracks on their out stand out as being some of the best examples of Deathcore around today. Volatile guitar work, blistering drumming and visceral vocals are all present here. Their mix of brutally heavy music and deep lyrics is truly a soundtrack to these current times. Strap yourself in. Score: 8/10 Epilogue is out now via Unique Leader Records. Purchase the record here.