thrown – ‘extended pain’ [EP] [Album Review]

At five tracks and barely eleven minutes long, extended pain, the debut EP from Swedish metallic hardcore quartet thrown, is over before you realize it. As the final moments of the closing track “parasite” screeches off into the distance, you’ll find that you’re picking yourself up off the floor and wondering what hit you.

Straddling the line between metalcore and hardcore, the Swedes do what they do well there is no doubt about that, but the problem is that it’s all done and dusted before you’ve had to chance to properly dig in. A ferocious onslaught on each track, from opener “grayout” to through “fast forward,” each smashes you in the face hard. Lyrically, right from the getgo, extended pain is packed full of angst and rage and the outfit match that fury with the result being this eleven-minute ball of musical aggression.

I suppose the problem is that, while there is no doubting the musical prowess of thrown, it’s hard to really get to grips with this EP or any of the individual songs. Throughout the eleven-minute duration of extended pain, each of these short sharp bursts of fury barely veers from that well-trodden metallic hardcore path. That being said, as you’re staggering punch drunk against the ropes, such was the lightning speed of the attack, you’ll be left with little memory of the last eleven minutes of your life.

extended pain EP Track Listing:

1. grayout
2. fast forward
3. new low
4. dwell
5. parasite

Run Time: 10:59
Release Date: March 25, 2022
Record Label: Arising Empire