Avarice - Perpetual Ruin - Metal Epidemic

Avarice – Perpetual Ruin
Release Date: 19th June 2026
Label: Mighty Music
Bandcamp
Genre: METAL
FFO: Sepultura, Slayer, Machine Head.
Review By: Mark Young

Another band that seemed to suffer from a stop-start existence, Avarice return with their follow-up to the self-titled 2021 release with a sense of renewed vigour, that time is somehow against them and there is a definite need to get their best work down and out whilst the wind is with them.

And it is a stormer.

In terms of approach, they balance themselves between Thrash and Melodic Death Metal, and you can see where FFO section below comes from. Rather than being clones of any of those bands where one is dominant over the others, it’s more that they have taken a fan view and extracted what they like from each and then distilled it into the barnburner here. It’s a tight 41-minute blast, where they present 10 super refined tracks of metal that have one united purpose, which is to provide you with a listening experience that is both brutal and melodic whilst remaining unique to themselves.

Beyond the Grave does it correctly as the album opener, complex and engaging at the same time. This is where they set their table, a starter that has an inhuman swing to it without losing any of the required heaviness. It establishes the bar early, and they stay close to it, with Underling dropping what feels like a sideways-sliding riff build and groove that keeps coming. Both tracks will be crowd movers live, without a doubt. Empires of Sound switches gears, bringing a more linear model where its straight for the throat and shows that they are adept in delivering a direct attack. This is especially apparent on Tyrannicide, with its crushing arrangement that manages to combine Slayer and Machine Head in the same sentence. Its amazing what you can do with what is a simple riff and still have it land a knock-out blow.

That attention to quality doesn’t diminish as we make our way through the album, the energy displayed is ever-present, dragging you along with them. Even with the slower tracks such as The Bacchanalia there is still a monstrous feeling of movement on show. From a fans perspective, its exactly what you want in your metal – riffing, extreme vocals and there is nothing included here that shouldn’t be. Especially as it runs into Enter the Arena which picks up the pace, only for Cult of the Forgotten God to leave it in its dust. Nature Prevails flips things around again, a rapid fire opening salvo is replaced by a slow burn dance. Things really flip on The Wolf King, with some King Diamond style vocals thrown in for good measure. I’ll be honest, they did throw me for a loop, but they don’t overwhelm the song itself, which is a decent closing statement from them. Would I have preferred something a little more full on? Of course but taking the album as a whole The Wolf King bookends proceedings nicely.