Metal Underground.com

Doomsday unites five noteworthy musicians from the metal scene to work on material that wouldn’t fit into their other bands. This stacked line-up features current and former members of Nachtmystium, Goatwhore, and The Gates Of Slumber. Their self-titled EP is a boiling pot of death metal, with some nasty punk and crude black metal bolstering the sound. In-your-face, primal energy seeps through this EP, and gives all the members something worth attempting to try to fit into their respective schedules.

Recorded in less than a week back in December of last year, the EP shines with a gritty spark that is evident on the five original songs (plus a great rendition of GG Allin’s “I Kill Everything I Fuck”). The band is nonplussed by the credentials of their other bands, focusing their attention on giving these songs a dirty complexion. The crusty punk is as primary to the sound as any of the more standard metal-based roots, acting as a major part of “I Kill Everything I Fuck” and “Black Vessel.”

A fast clip is the kind of pace Doomsday thrives on, and that’s apparent when they start the EP by abruptly jumping into the middle of “She Will Be The One.” The barrage of instruments that overcomes the song is left in check by drummer Zack Simmons, who does to this EP what he has done for years with Goatwhore; keep control, while blasting away into self-destruction. Doomsday is on top of making sure the tempos don’t head in a one-note direction, but mix up enough to not be overcome by the waves of hatred bellowing forth from the quintet.

Though Doomsday is angry all the time, there are signs of sane minds at work. “The Punishment” has the band put their noses to the ground with frayed death metal that is one of the heaviest moments on the album. “Bring Down The Knife” uses its five minutes as an excursion, compared to the tightly-wound songs that surround it. Will Lindsay and Pentagram’s Russ Strahan lend some guitar work to the track, a stylish touch in an album dominated by riffs that could skin a cat from head to tail.

This EP is a compelling first look at Doomsday, a band worth its weight considering the musicians involved. The band moves like a death/black outfit, but snarls like a punk group. It’s a delicate split that is in constant communication with each other, never fighting for position on the EP like spoiled brats. Doomsday is a band to look out for in the coming months, especially if they start working on an LP. With a self-titled release as harsh as this, they would be crazy not to get back in the studio and get a full-length album out.