Hailing from the Southampton, UK, hardcore unit DESOLATED have released their 3^rd full-length release "The End", which might be their most ambitious effort to date. Amidst the gut-punching music, the album details a story of addiction, from dependency to therapy to resolution and, finally, tragic relapse; a message of cold, hard reality with a hot, fresh sound. No Punk fan will want to miss this.

"The End" defies and annihilates all stereotypes of its genre, while staying true to the spirit of their community. The record features slower, groovier riffs and rhythms than the more common, quick-paced Punk groups. The guitars by Rich Unsworth and Drew Harper are tuned so low, they practically hang suspended off the instrument's frame, yet burst in sound and tone. Jake Marlowe's bass is prominent and pushed forth at opportune moments, with a dirty rumble in contrast to an overdriven, crisp guitar. The vocalist, Paul Williams makes use of the trademarked Punk shout, but has pitch to match his bandmates. Finally, a variety of beats and fills performed throughout by drummer Tommy Defelice, simply powerful at certain times, and deviously technical at others. Though what I found most impressive with this effort, however, was the production. "The End" came out clean and well-balanced; its mixing moved with the album rather than staying to a particular standard.

We start with "The Beginning" to mark, obviously, the protagonist's spiraling departure into addiction with a slow intro, heavy bass drum, and the words "I'm a victim, swallowed by the world", the clear message of losing control. From here, the vocals are on-point with the rest of the band. Unlike most Punk albums, we start more melodramatically, pick up, and drop back down in a roller coaster of emotion throughout this draining story.

"Therapy" opens a melodic riff, laced with traces of Groove Metal at first, but then kicks off into something fiercer. This is an exemplary song to convey the band's strengths- though technically simple, their music has lots of soul, which isn't something that can be reproduced with a process or an equation, but rather, is something that comes with the band and their passion.

As we move forward into "Invasion", we get a taste of a bit of Thrash at the beginning before moving back into that slow roll, a bit of a statement as to this band's versatility while, at the same time, staying within the confines of Punk. However, we hit that thrashy whirlwind with full force in "Withdrawal", to which the name already comes pre-packaged with a painful feeling that some of us know all too well.

My favorite track is "Out of Luck", near the end of the story as the protagonist is tempted to drop back into that drugged stupor. The song features a bluesy solo and chord progressions, following the example of a genre that was founded on these misfortunes of life. With feelings of disheartened defeat, we then slip into the tune "Relapse", which is, if anything, a warning, with the words "Relapse is a matter of time". And finally, the instrumental outro "Psychosis", musically details that woeful ending of falling back into addiction and, eventually, probably overdose, with slow, doomy bass drones and unspoken remorse for this body, living or dead.

Knowing that I was going to listen to a hardcore album, I admittedly went in with a few preconceptions, all of which were absolutely obliterated by these Southampton boys and their message of pain. The delivery was fantastic, the instruments were soulful, the vocals powerful, and the production went above and beyond my previous expectations. "The End" is a diamond in the rough underground of Punk.<