Whatever Forever

Personnel: Zack Weil (guitar); Kyle Reynolds (drums).
The third studio long-player from the Chicago-based metal trio, Whatever Forever opens with the line "Peace Is a Lie," and then spends the ensuing 47 minutes backing that notion up with an unrelenting assault of thrashcore gutter punk artillery fire. Bolder and more streamlined -- though no less visceral -- than 2014's Earth Suck, Oozing Wound's penchant for pairing sonic might with offbeat, sometimes satirical lyrics is put into play on stand-out cuts like "Everything Sucks, And My Life Is a Lie," "Rambo 5 (Pre-Emptive Strike)," and "Weather Tamer," the latter of which delivers a haymaker to climate change deniers. As per usual, the band has little interest in settling into any specific genre, incorporating bits of noise rock and black, sludge, and prog metal into the mix whenever they see fit, but one thing Whatever Forever does do consistently is melt your face off which, in the end, is probably a good thing for the earth. ~ James Christopher Monger