Breaking the Day – Survived By None

Since the days of Black Sabbath, Britain has been renowned as the birthplace of heaviness but it’s been a while since anything has come close to that same level of all-consuming power. Survived by None has changed all this by essentially giving us our own version of Cult of Luna but with all the frilly parts left on the cutting room floor, leaving nothing but a bludgeoning cascade of post-hardcore fury in its wake.

The oppressive momentum gathered by this band is most easily recognisable in centrepiece Pretty Girls Make Graves (no, not that one), blending the concussive force of Neurosis with the clipped precision of hardcore drumming before infusing it with a near-religious even-handedness, but the same effect is shown off readily and confidently throughout. Only moments like Nightmare Dependencies dare to break the chain of brutality by allowing a measure of restraint but it’s this album’s bluntness that makes it what it is.