Priorities is a hardcore/metal/punk band made up of 5 members from the South-East of Victoria, Australia with a multitude of influences. The band created their unique and aggressive sound by blending 2000's-era hardcore sounds with elements of a more contemporary djent, prog and metalcore sound due to each member of the band incorporating some of their own personal tastes into songwriting They have released their debut five song EP "Human After All" available at Apple Music, YouTube and Spotify on November 9, 2022. I know nothing about this band and found out not much more on my Google search or their Facebook page. I was able to gather that they write emotional and very personal songs related to some dark times of "what it's like when your world crashes around you - and not knowing where to go from there".

The album opens strongly with "Broken Glass" and straight out of the gate leading the way is a hard-core pounding drum beat which is quickly overpowered by gutty, throaty vocals besieged by hyper-driven riffs. I couldn't quite put this in the thrash or metal category yet, kind of hovered between the two, let's see if they pick a lane on the next song. "If I Believed" is a slower track than the first with some heavy guitar drops and a straight-out thrash sound and emotional tone, I did find this quote from lead singer Mitch Sigge, "The song itself, it does come from a very personal place, but it's kind of more of just, I guess like a 'fuck you' to everything that happens in life, you know, everybody deals with their own problems when they get frustrated, or upset, or just downright angry with everything that happens, and I guess the idea behind this song was my personal release to just yell and scream and just tell everyone to 'get fucked' sort of thing." Ending with "Reflections" veers ever-so-slightly away from thrash with a tease of some clean vocals intermittingly making a guest appearance united with nasty and filthy riffs and backbeat, their best song to close out on.

The two things I came away with the most from "Human After All" are the songs are dark, personal and emotional, and sung with passion, "If I believed in God, I'd be more concerned with where I'd end up when I die" and would be great added to your playlist to workout with at the gym, it's got that monstrous burner beat. Musically, it's hard-core thrash, never got any punk feel, and could possibly grow on non-thrash fans like myself. Overall, it's got some staying power and enough "oomph" to see how far PRIORITIES could go with a record label and the right promotion.