REVIEW: Final Resting Place – Bound By Affliction [2025/EP]
Artist: Final Resting Place
Album: Bound by Affliction – EP
What do the impeachment of Bill Clinton, MacOS, The Blair Witch Project, The Sixth Sense and northeastern US death metal outfit Final Resting Place have in common? They’re among the most memorable moments and products of the year 1999—well, kind of. While Final Resting Place were formed in 2023, their sound and style is enough to convince just about anyone that they’ve been making raunchy, hardcore-tinted death metal since the late 90s. Featuring members of Simulakra, Sanction, Discontent, Scarab and more, this furious five-piece is back with a surprise sophomore EP titled Bound by Affliction that takes the overt 1990-something visual aesthetic and sonic aggression about on Prelude to Extinction and steps it up a notch. Built on a foundation of quick, pingy percussion and murky, dissonant guitars, Final Resting Place sound somewhat like the original Xbox consult main menu looked—in a complementary fashion—and easily assert themselves as one of Daze’s most relentless and outright ruthless artists on Bound by Affliction.
In an effort to keep the baggy pants, big-shirt, 90s tech quips and jokes to a minimum, the simplest way to describe Final Resting Place’s sonic aesthetic is simply to call it raw. “Descent to Dementia” kicks in like a freight train following the brief but off-putting “Psychosis,” with bouncy guitars and a snare that sounds like a mix between a whip crack and a gunshot taking center stage. As the song builds, it morphs from the chug-heavy introduction into a riff-lead machine, with quick percussion setting a tone for raw, devastating fretwork to steal the show. This is somewhat in contrast to the closing section of “Burning Revelation” and the entirety of the record’s title track—which are, more or less, for the dancers. Ten-ton breakdowns and visceral slamming moments oppress the listener as an onslaught of fuzzy, crushing fretwork wreak absolute havoc. “Forbidden Knowledge,” on the other hand, is a faster-paced cut, taking those pulverizing moments abundant on “Descent to Dementia” and expanding upon them. This is all done with each track left in an unpolished—but certainly not unfinished—state, allowing the ruthless, gritty and primal nature of the guitars, bass and punishing percussion to speak for themselves while accentuating the 90s soundscape and imagery Final Resting Place work tirelessly to cultivate.
Just as the salvos of blitzing double kick drum and galloping chugs rain down constant sonic oppression on the listener, Final Resting Place’s vocal element is certainly not for the faint of heart. Every track—save the eerie opener—is a host to girthy, gritty growls and bellows that channel a brutal slamming death metal feel into the band’s hardcore-and-beatdown tinted death metal soundscape. “Forbidden Knowledge” alongside “Bound by Affliction” are home to the EP’s overall catchiest moments, while “Burning Revelation” is a less vocal-heavy track, letting the guitar and bass work in a devastating dynamic. Bound by Affliction’s vocal element is not complex, and is home to no gimmicks or vocal gymnastics—instead, it’s just a little over twelve minutes of outright immolating grit, trading segments that follow a chanted, steady candor to those of grisly, visceral bellows with fluidity and ease, giving an additional layer of energy and anguish to each of Final Resting Place’s songs.
Similar to Prelude to Extinction, Bound by Affliction is a short-but-sweet exercise in sonic terror–in fact, it would be fair to say that the outfit opted not to fix what definitely wasn’t broken. Final Resting Place exude raw bloodlust and carnal depravity on each of the tracks that comprise this towering EP, building on the cult following they established practically overnight with the release of their debut effort. While the minimalistic, raw and “old-school” production superimposed on a similarly “retro” aesthetic might not be for everyone, there is, without a doubt, something for any fan of hardcore, death metal or anything between the two on this bristling, eviscerating EP.
9/10
For Fans Of: Merauder, Madball, Torture, Azshara
By: Connor Welsh
