Album/EP

Extortionist - Devoid of Love & Light (Album Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

May 19, 2024

7 min read

Extortionist – Devoid of Love & Light
Released: May 17th, 2024

Line Up:

Ben Hoagland // Vocals
Juan Hernandez III // Guitars
Kip Treeman // Bass
Jared Suku // Guitars
Dominic Guggino // Drums

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For Idaho’s Extortionist, the raison d’être that informs their artistry is resolute and all-consuming. This is music that confronts listeners with the most deep-seated manifestations of contempt, and explores the myriad of forms in which it expresses itself through our human experience. It’s visceral, deeply confronting, and at times outright disturbing.

On Extortionist’s debut release The Decline, we were faced with forlorn notions of distress, and inexorable self-hate. By Sever the Cord, the focus had shifted outwards, projecting an indiscriminate and tempestuous rage. Now on their latest release, Devoid of Love & Light, we have arrived full circle, but not in a way that’s altogether comparable. The compositions are susceptible to greater throes of chaos, yet Extortionist have never sounded more in command of their craft. The lyrical themes display a heightened sense of nuance and consideration, though equally, are elucidated with eloquent and poignant clarity. All this bedlam plays out amongst a discordant horrorscape, replete with caustic instrumentals, and vocal performances that range from the insidiously aggressive to the hauntingly alluring.

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It’s best to accept that you’re never going to get comfortable on Devoid of Love & Light. The harrowing sound bite that encapsulates opener ‘This Is What Haunts Me’ feels eerily reminiscent of a ‘found-footage’ horror flick, which ties in with the album’s twisted cover photo. Even the lucidly strained cleans are tinged with torment, enveloped on either side by chilling guitar shrieks, and soul-depleting breakdowns (see ‘Out Of Touch’ and ‘A Grim Disconnect’).

The chorus in the title track channels the spirit of a Layne Staley vocal melody, shrouded in intense measures of anguish and dejection. ‘Stockholm’ then exhibits a tension redolent of the phenomenon that shares its namesake, as do the ominous electronics that crawl all over ‘Desynchronized’. This sentiment carries through on the brilliantly cracked ‘Invisible Scars’, which transitions deftly between dense rhythmic barrages, trance-like passages of spoken word, and sonically unnerving studio effects.

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Although the arrangements/production on Devoid of Love & Light might not rank amongst the most abrasive or bludgeoning of Extortionist’s catalogue (‘Drained Of Life’ and ‘When It All Goes Dark’ aside), this in no way suggests their songwriting has regressed in potency; the exact opposite is true in fact. It's in moments of frail vulnerability - see ‘Dissociate’ - where Extortionists exert their most profound influence.