Moulins à vent, coups de pied tournants, coups de tête, et poussées dans les fosses!
And just like that, I have most likely exhausted the one and only time to translate “Windmills, Spinkicks, Headbangs, and Push Pits!” to French. So, beyond how fucking awesome Worst Doubt’s newest EP, Immortal Pain, is, I have them to thank for that.
We all are guilty of succumbing to and basking in nostalgia. It is a universal feeling that we all yearn for because we seek the comfort. While this can sometimes be viewed as a lack of growth, I believe we need to remember the things that brought us joy while also keeping an eye on the present to see where we are going. Cue: Worst Doubt.
Since forming in 2014, the Paris-based quintet has sought to recreate the best parts of 90’s and early 2000’s hardcore and beatdown while also staying modern and intriguing. Worst Doubt cites old school influences such as Everybody Gets Hurt, Breakdown, and Kickback coupled with newer acts Trapped Under Ice, King Nine, and Soul Search. Immortal Pain opener “Ruination” makes these influences immediately fucking clear. The most violent of beatdown riffs kicks off this EP and within the first few bars, vocalist Hugo screams, “No one cares about your miserable fucking life”.
“Consume” continues the onslaught but through this song the band toys with a d-beat bordering on powerviolence phrasing momentarily, then kicks the old school hardcore back into gear. “Machine Way”, my favorite track on the EP, starts with some head nodding shit straight into a thrash inspired two step onslaught. Pre-breakdown screamed “YOU FUCKING CLONE!” is the crème de la crème of this song.
The title track, Immortal Pain, is a continuation of all the characteristics described on this EP and then Worst Doubt brings along some friends for the posse cut, “City of Blight” (a purposefully not-so-subtle jab at Paris’ nickname). Musically and lyrically, this song proves that Paris isn’t all fromage and baguettes, but it has a seedy, dangerous underbelly from which Worst Doubt emerged.
While Immortal Pain is not breaking much new ground compared to the band’s full length, Extinction, there is something just more fucking raw. Recording wise, it sounds as if Worst Doubt went stripped down to the bare bones and the EP benefits from that choice. The lack of extraneous effects on the vocals gives them a sense of grit like chewing rocks. The instruments all sound fuller and more alive. Every breakdown hits that much harder and threatens to break in your goddamn face. C’est magnifique.
- Fav song: “Machine Way”
FFO: beatdown, hardcore, Paris, nostalgia, n’importe quoi, two steps, crowd kills, détruisez tout le monde, windmilling baguettes
Follow this fucking link to listen and while you’re there, fucking buy something from the band:
Windmills, Spinkicks, Headbangs, Push Pits 
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