As one of the first huge events/fest to come back around in the hardcore scene post social distancing and the lack of shows, January 2022's FYA Fest in Tampa, Florida was a cathartic experience for many, myself included. Out of the several standout sets I saw that weekend, the one from Baltimore's End It was among the top. I had heard the band's previous EP's and enjoyed them, but like many punk/hardcore the visceral passion and urgency from their live set solidified them as one of the most exciting current hardcore bands on my radar. Fast forward half a year and we have the band's new EP, Unpleasant Living, which not only builds on the foundation and momentum of their first two releases but barrels straight through it, with the band's most incendiary and hard hitting material to date.
End It has a true knack for writing incredibly catchy fast, heavy hardcore songs that wastes no time getting to the point and a message that hits like a sledgehammer. The six songs on Unpleasant Living come in at just under 8 minutes, but that's all the time End It needs to leave a lasting impression and to get their message across. Bringing time mind classic metallica hardcore greats like Leeway and Maximum Penalty fused with the volatile attitude of Trash Talk's earlier records, the band manages to walk the fine line between offering something fresh and paying respect and tribute to the genre they clearly love. It says a lot when the intro track B.C.H.C. goes harder than a lot of bands entire albums in it's 58 seconds. That intensity continues to build through it's brisk runtime all the way to the standout closing track "The Comeback" , a song that begins with an absolutely menacing introduction before transitioning to the breakneck pace featured on the rest of the record, culminating at the end with a crushingly heavy ending breakdown coupled with vocals that sum up the band's statement of intent perfectly:
"Baltimore's coming back with a bang, still knuckle dragging like it ain't no thing"
Plenty of hardcore bands are making waves nowadays and plenty of bands can lay claim to the typical genre tags of fast, hard and heavy, but End It display a true take no prisoners attitude that ensures they'll be turning heads anywhere they hit the stage. There's something for every fan of hardcore to latch on to and love here, and I'm looking forward to the band's next moves.
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