The Fallen Prophets / The unstoppable South Africans proclaim there is ‘No End in Sight’.

Some bands are unstoppable. The current global situation becomes, for them, a challenge to be beaten in their own way and South Africa’s Extreme Metal outfit The Fallen Prophets are such a band.

The Fallen Prophets – No End in Sight (MMD Records)

Release Date: 11 December 2020

Words: Jools Green

Not content with their Brutal Death Metal offering back in February ‘Relentless Killing Motivation’, they are back to close this accursed year with a second aural assault, the ominously titled EP ‘No End in Sight’.

For ‘No End in Sight’, The Fallen Prophets have pushed their boundaries further, encompassing blackened elements to their already extreme Death Metal/Deathcore sound, resulting in an EP that is even more brutal, but still hugely engaging.

Cover of the EP by The Fallen Prophets

The EP theme is based on “an entity bound and cursed to destroy all life forms”, a perfect theme for their all destroying sound.

Hella Rock Festival

This may just be a six track, twenty-seven-minute offering, but the important aspect is what has been jammed into this brutal delight of an EP. Alongside the blackened element incorporated, almost every track also features a guest guitar solo.

Opening track ‘Dead But Still Alive’ features soaring second half leadwork from Kriss Xen of Vulvodynia and like all the tracks, the brutal gutturals dominate. But it is hard not to, with a delivery of the magnitude of vocalist Pieter Pieterse’s.

However the intense and often complex riff patterns, dark melodic undercurrents and intense, blackened styled drum delivery, do step up to the mark and give the vocals something to do battle with throughout the EP.

A dark haunting repeat on ‘Killing the Last Savior’ is prelude to this brutal onslaught of a track.

‘The Beast’ features guest midpoint leadwork from Justen Hosken that bursts out and soars above the brutality, alongside a soaring repeat riff pattern and balanced with an ominous undercurrent.

‘Believe’ is an interesting offering. Here superb blackened riffing opens, developing into an ominous repeat riff before moving into an engagingly convoluted and complex battle between the riff work, drums and vocals. The blackened riffing re-emerges midway with a mash up of soundbites and second half leadwork courtesy of Ivan Meathook of Blood Red Throne, which fights its way out from beneath the riffs.

‘No End In Sight’ boasts a sinister and ominous opener with riffs that pack a punch and sublime soaring leadwork from Oliver Saggerson of Bulletscript, that tails away with a squeal and is replaced by convoluted and intense riffing, ending on slower heavy as hell riffs and squeals.

Finally there is the bonus track and possibly my favourite of the EP. ‘Deception’ opens on superb soaring blackened riffing, which rises and falls with dark deliberation, before breaking into my favourite swathe of leadwork from the sensationally skilled Japanese guitarist “Warzy”, [Hiroshi Yamashita from Hate Beyond], making way for acerbic vocal screams and deeper growls. The blackened riffs return and you also get a final insane closing chunk of leadwork, accompanied by more soundbites to fade.

‘No End In Sight’ should be of interest to fans of bands like Cattle Decapitation, Benighted and Aborted.

The EP can be ordered from here.

Sleeve Notes

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