I DECLARE WAR – DOWNCAST, VOL 2 EP REVIEW

20th November 2024 0 By Quinccy

For anyone unfamiliar with I Declare War, I Declare War are an american deathcore band hailing from Seattle, Washington and were founded in 2005. For me these are a band from my nostalgia deathcore years of thinking I was cool wearing camo t-shirts and shorts, even thinking back to those days makes me cringe but the music was “oh so good”. Downcast, vol 2 is their latest release since their 2019 release Downcast (EP, self-released).

The current member line up for the band is Jamie Hanks (Vocals), John Winters (Guitar), Gordon McPherson (Bass) and Yusef Johnson (Drums), the line up has remained like this since 2016 allowing a solid foundation for the music to be developed.

This five-track EP continues the band’s signature sound of intense and aggressive music that the fans acknowledge and love from I Declare War. After waiting 5 years for this I have to say it did not disappoint, the EP is fucking amazing – intense riffs, relentless aggressive pace and guttural vocals that legitimately give goosebumps. I’m such a happy girl reviewing this.

Highlighted tracks from the EP for me were “Bad Intentions”, “Shadow Dancer” and “Reject the Sun”. The nostalgia vibe was rife, I understand band sounds change and the music progresses but honestly, please I declare War – do not change. You are doing everything right.

Overall, I feel that it earns a solid 10/10 for complexity, nostalgia and music composition. Production quality is solid. For anyone who does not know of “I Declare War” I highly recommend giving this plus their previous discography a listen to if you are a fan of Rose Funeral, Suffokate, Despised Icon, Annotations of an Autopsy, Carnifex, Salt The Wound, Vulvodynia and Oceano. I Declare War are an unstoppable juggernaut of pure deathcore, fucking love it. 10/10 all day long. Sorry, not sorry. UK TOUR WHEN, PLEASE??

Score 10/10