The Annihilated: Submission to Annihilation 12"

“An urgent reaction to a city and a world that wish to grind you into submission. THE ANNIHILATED waste no time polishing their craft, instead choosing to play constantly at the edge of their ability. The resulting sounds are of chaotic frustration and desperation, played with the intensity of an acid trip on the central line at rush hour. The rare punctuation marks are the red signals on the tracks to annihilation. A band from nowhere, but shaped by the hostile environment of a city, this record is a lashing out at the knives held to our necks.”

Our take: We’ve been eagerly anticipating new music from London’s the Annihilated ever since we heard their demo tape in early 2020. That was one of our favorite releases of that year, and Submission to Annihilationis exactly the follow-up we’ve been waiting for. The Annihilated’s sound is fast and jagged, with a dark and desperate vibe that reminds me of Black Flag’s Damaged. Bobby, the Annihilated’s singer, has an early Rollins-esque bark, but the music is mega-fast Koro-influenced US-style hardcore that might remind you of killer recent Texas bands like Nosferatu and Save Our Children. As with Koro, the Annihilated has a way of taking hooks (particularly catchy guitar riffs, but vocals, bass, and drums each have plenty of time in the spotlight too) and compressing them into dangerously unstable, hyper-dense cores of sound, this instability further emphasized by the band’s loose and swingy playing style. If any of the above references pique your interest, check this out right away… it’s scorching, not an ounce of fat in its svelte but substantial 19-minute running length. And kudos for putting together packaging for the physical version that stands out from the crowd, with a fold-out poster sleeve on yellow paper that’s packed with EC Comics-influenced pen-and-ink illustrations, ransom note lettering (the real stuff, not a font), and high-contrast photo collages. Yes, it’s on the nose, but nothing about Submission to Annihilation feels cliche. It’s as urgent and invigorating as the best hardcore from any era.