EXTINCTION A.D. – RUTHLESS INTENT

We live within odd spaces, and there are moments when we don’t even realize it. While they may seem vastly different and unique, they’re ubiquitous. Imagine living within the confines of genres for one thing, but you may note that Hip-Hop lives close to, or intersects with Metal, classical will find solace nestled to free jazz, and so on. Not even sure where I’m going with this anymore, loud rock has so many subgenres that it may be difficult to discern one from the other but sometimes it’s not difficult.

For the past month I’ve been wrapped around the Ruthless Intent E.P (Unique Leader Records), the latest release by Long Island, NY metal stalwarts Extinction A.D. The band is obviously deeply rooted in metal but there are a variety of influential aspects to the group, aside from music itself. The band does cite Tarantino and John Carpenter, which may add to the group’s savagery, while writers like Alan Moore and George Orwell, as well as lyricist Chuck D are pivotal influences for these four horsemen. Sure the band can thrash with the best of them and those double-kicks are massively entertaining but we can hear their heavy hardcore roots seeping through as well. With just four songs, the band tears down everything around it.  

Those kicks I mentioned open “Prodigal Scum,” as heavy a song as anything you’ve ever heard before, and challenging listeners in 2024, with dual guitar interplay that never unravels, always tightly wound against a massive rhythm. Now this is the way to start things! This leads into “Under The Hood” with unexpected vocal melodies against the harsh growl but when they sing “How long can the truth be stretched?/How long can we live with regret?” before changing things up, allowing for what sounds like two songs in one. But it works, oh how it works. For the naysayers, Metal isn’t dead, it’s still alive and well, and “Mortality Bait” is a testament to that. The track, the guitars, literally shake and stir out all the sludge making its way from New York and New Jersey, as the band then explodes with frenetic energy, allowing each instrument to make its way, unrestrained with haunting emotion emanating through.

With a few albums and a handful of E.P.s, Extinction A.D. shows no signs of slowing down. Ruthless Intent seems to echo that feeling with the harsh deliveries in its songs coupled with inventive melodies throughout. With such an intense release, how can the band even consider it?