Essex deathcore outfit Beyond Extinction are back with their latest EP, Three Swords, released on 23 October. Hot on the heels of their breakout debut album, Where They Gather, the four-piece return fully independent and rising from the Essex mud with four tracks packed with their signature down-tuned deathcore!
Deeply rooted in their home county, even the title ‘Three Swords’ references the three notched seaxes (Saxon swords) on the Essex coat of arms, which dates back to at least the 17th century. Drawing inspiration from some of the darkest stories to have taken place on Essex soil, the EP opens with ‘Witchfinder’. Eerie soundscapes gradually build before the drums kick in, followed by guttural vocals that assault the senses. With blistering drumming and often incomprehensible vocals, the track delivers a brutal wall of sound that is death metal to the core.
Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled ‘Witchfinder General’, was a notorious figure in Essex and East Anglian history. He and his colleague John Stearne sent more accused people to be hanged for witchcraft than all witch-finders combined in the previous 160 years. The track is as brutal as the practice of witch-hunting itself, making it a fitting tribute.
‘Skin of the Beast’ is relentless from the start, conjuring images of something evil lurking in the forests and bogs of our county, with the tribespeople of Essex emerging from the fog, clad in animal furs and ready to slaughter invaders. Its down-tuned, down-tempo sound only adds to the atmosphere. Is the mythical serpent a real creature, or does it represent the people crawling from the mud? Perhaps she is the estuary itself, rising to swallow invaders and natives alike… With its music video filmed at Bay Days Festival 2026 in Essex, this song has its roots firmly planted in its home county.
‘The Estuary’ opens almost immediately with a savage riff and furious double-bass drumming, paying tribute to the rivers and tributaries that cross our homeland, bringing both life and death to the surrounding lands and their peoples. With death growls to match the guttural tuning of the guitars, the song slowly builds in intensity, focusing more on power than speed, much like the bodies of water that inspired it. The sound is sludgy and undeniably heavy, drowning listeners in the mud of Essex’s marshes and mudflats, which have swallowed many souls throughout the county’s dark history.
The final track, ‘A Dark Sickness (Three Swords)’, is about the Plague. A dark, venomous song, it begins with ominous clanging bells and death-rattle coughing before launching into crunching guitars and inhuman-sounding vocals reminiscent of Cannibal Corpse. The music ends almost abruptly, followed by nearly a minute of stillness, evoking the image of a long-forgotten village filled with bodies, not a soul left alive in the wake of an outbreak of the Black Death.
Across all four tracks, Beyond Extinction create a rich soundscape that blends the bloodiest chapters of history with crushing death metal breakdowns. If you love deathcore, we recommend giving them a listen!