EP REVIEW: God Complex – He Watches In Silence

‘…picks right up where they left off, with a sound that leaves many of their contemporaries in the dust…’

Before God Complex had even released their debut record, they announced that their time had come. Despite crafting an album that garnered attention from all corners of the heavy music world, the Liverpool outfit saw no way forwards through a musical landscape ravaged by COVID; even when you can produce the sound of the apocalypse itself, the world of music can be a hostile one.

It was jarring to see a band with so much to offer disappear, yet it was arguably even more jarring to see them return late last year. In the shadows, they had been working alongside Erik Bickerstaffe of Loathe for quite some time, having found something still remaining within God Complex’s spirit with pursuing. And lo, ‘He Watches In Silence’ was born.

After all of that, it still remains unclear what fact is the most surprising: that they split up, that they reunited, or that they now sound better than ever. The venomous aggression present on their debut record is still present, but the manner in which the band have tightened up their performances and expanded their creativity leads to this being a must-listen heavy record that challenges all expectations of them.

‘Salt & Ash’ opens with the same instrumental that their debut record bowed out with, indicating that God Complex aren’t here to mess about; they are getting to straight to producing ungodly, nasty music. Swaggering grooves plough into the listener like a semi-truck, with ferocious, vicious vocals that rarely sound human. ‘Depraved Idol’ is utterly apocalyptic, with rhythmic switch-ups that lend the track a feeling of menacing, unholy fury; the marching percussion and screeching guitars in the back half make for a captivating moment in particular.

The manic frenzy of their sound only continues to reach further heights with ‘Ba’al’s Trick’. Vocals plunge to behemoth low growls whilst also conjuring monstrous pig squeal styled screeches. The snare drum is the sonic equivalent of being pelted full-force in the face with a dodgeball, whilst the shape-shifting rhythms will have you spin-kicking and two-stepping in equal measure.

God Complex returning was something nobody could have predicted; they were a band that burned bright and burned out fast. Yet already, it feels as though they had never left; ‘He Watches In Silence’ picks right up where they left off, with a sound that leaves many of their contemporaries in the dust. This is the cutting edge of heavy music.

RATING: 81/100 – Very Good

For Fans Of: Loathe, PSYCHO-FRAME, Desolate, Knocked Loose, Bodyweb, Deafheaven

Physical copies are available to purchase here.

Follow the band on social media below:

Instagram // Spotify