Singapore’s xDETESTERx return with Take This to the End, a blistering statement of intent that reaffirms their place in the global straightedge and metallic hardcore landscape. While it doesn’t aim to redefine the genre, the album executes its mission with surgical precision, grit, and a relentless pulse that never lets up. This is metallic hardcore distilled to its purest, most ferocious form—lean, focused, and overflowing with conviction.
From the opening moments of the self-titled track “xDETESTERx,” the band wastes no time setting the tone. The riffs are immediate—thick, chugging, and sharply defined—driven by pounding kick drums and deep, growling bass lines that inject every moment with visceral power. The mix is crisp without feeling sterile, allowing each instrument to carve out space while maintaining that dense, sweat-soaked atmosphere essential to hardcore. The production feels raw but intentional, perfectly balancing clarity and aggression.
Vocalist delivery is a highlight throughout Take This to the End. The snarls, bellows, and guttural roars feel authentic and commanding—never forced, never theatrical. On standout tracks like “Elite” and “Dominion Over Evil,” the vocals shift fluidly between hardcore bark and near-death metal depth, creating tension before each bone-crushing breakdown. It’s classic metallic hardcore structure, but xDETESTERx execute it with an understanding of pacing and intensity that makes every moment feel earned.
The band’s chemistry is one of its strongest assets. The rhythm section locks in tightly—bass and drums moving as a single organism beneath the wall of guitars. Songs like “Hammerfall” and “Heart Once Pure” showcase some of the album’s thickest, most aggressive grooves, with the bass rumbling just beneath the surface, giving each riff that extra weight. The double kicks and snare work are executed with machine-like consistency, yet they breathe; every hit lands with purpose, driving the music forward with unrelenting precision.
What keeps Take This to the End from feeling one-dimensional are the subtle details that break through the aggression. The slow, atmospheric buildup in “In Penance” hints at a doomier influence, creating a chilling calm before the storm. “Hellscape” brings a more methodical, slow-burn intensity that contrasts beautifully with the faster, more traditional hardcore assaults elsewhere. The album even closes with a hidden track buried within “Hellscape”—a chaotic, raw burst of noise and fury that serves as an unfiltered reminder of the band’s DIY roots and uncompromising spirit.
Across the record, xDETESTERx show they understand what makes metallic hardcore work: groove, precision, and authenticity. Even when working within familiar frameworks—chugging riffs, breakdowns, sharp snare hits—they inject enough energy, confidence, and nuance to make the sound feel alive. Every riff feels deliberate, every transition thought out. The result is an album that doesn’t just hit hard—it moves with purpose.
Take This to the End isn’t trying to be revolutionary. Instead, it’s an affirmation of what happens when a band truly masters its craft. Tight, focused, and seething with conviction, this album hits that sweet spot between aggression and control. For fans of straightedge, groove-heavy hardcore, or metallic brutality in the vein of Terror, Earth Crisis, or Knocked Loose, xDETESTERx deliver one of the most refined examples of modern metallic hardcore this year. It’s heavy, it’s honest, and it hits exactly where it needs to—hard.
NOTABLE TRACKS:
Hammerfall
Dominion Over Evi
Hellscape