ANIMETAL
Artist: Within Destruction
Genre: Metalcore
Record Label: Sumerian Records
Release Date: 11 April 2025
Slovenian metal group WITHIN DESTRUCTION released their new album, ANIMETAL, through Sumerian Records. It will be available worldwide from April 11th.
If you’re into metal, anime or want to hear something different; check this out!
The album starts strong with the self-titled track “ANIMETAL” , which has anime and hardcore themes throughout. Catchy choruses lead to heavy breakdowns, and the song has layers of fast-paced chanted lyrics throughout. There is some anime dialogue towards the end, which gives it an original and authentic feel. There’s lots of different musical styles that fluctuate to keep you actively listening. The lyrics are meaningful and explore our journeys through life, in a fictional but relatable way, which is quite magical. It has fast-paced guitars and drums and is filled with instrumental mash-ups. Traditional upward-scaled metal guitar riffs accentuate the bridge towards the end. It sounds like a theme tune to an anime cartoon but has the potential for daily listening also.
The next track is the super versatile “DEMON CHILD” and it’s so addictive. The track starts alluring and draws us in through synthesized chaos. Whispering metal vocals annunciate words powerfully. The song gets heavy unexpectedly. Growls, screams and “oofs” of determination behind the vocals are delivered precisely and are devoted to the carnage. I adore the lead-ups to the heaviness. The stand out lyric for me is “Shits about to get bleughhhhh” I can fully relate.
Up next is “KANASHIBARI” which is a Japanese term for sleep paralysis, and I feel this song depicts it well. It starts off heavy with the hugest guttural screams. There’s so much energy in this track, it makes you want to move instantly. Stamping and marching sounding instrumentals with downward sliding scales and quickly plucked strings accompany siren noises in the background and eerie chanting while somehow mastering ‘whisper metal’. Definitive meanings are delivered powerfully through the lyrics. Fast-paced and emotive choruses are paired with scales that remain high-pitched. The biggest integrated screams, with force behind them, quickly turn into rap-like metal screams that are delivered staccato and double-timed. I love how they fluctuate from the biggest bleughs to enchanting singing unexpectedly. There’s something hauntingly beautiful about the way they’re singing the lyrics and how they’re delivered. There are many musical surprises throughout this track.
Their dedication to anime and metal music shines throughout the production of this album.
“BITTER EMBRACE” starts off lullaby sounding from an instrumental point of view and we hear more words whispered deeply. It’s enthralling and quickly leads to fully projected guttural screams. The song effortlessly fluctuates from delicate to heavy. I love the alternations between both, it ignites different emotions and senses and is cleverly delivered. There is also some heartfelt singing and unexpected sounds throughout the whole song. They execute lots of different styles and engage us all the way through. The song ends unexpectedly and leaves us wanting more…..
Which leads us on to the next song “FATE__SEPERATE” which starts off with piano that’s synthesized and crashing notes circling all around the melody. Lots of unison screaming and meshed vocals with high-pitched sounds emphasize the ends of sentences. Pop punk vocals with catchy melodies are delivered and screams intertwine with them to back their meaning up. Twinkling sounding instruments play in the background. Drums are manic and heavy throughout. There are lots of layers and depth to the huge sounds within this song.
Each song is wildly different from the last, but they’re all executed to perfection.
“CYBERGIRL” is one of my favorites and I’m sure it will be one of yours too! It’s a love song not quite like any other you’ll ever hear. Angelic-sounding and all consuming vocals lead to gravelly expressions of lyrics in this ode to cybergirls all over the world- this is our anthem. The guitar is being plucked sporadically, there’s digitalized noises throughout and clever word play. It’s a song we want to rave to that’s backed up by pop punk chanting, elongated screams and high-pitched singing expressing how multi-talented and versatile WITHIN DESTRUCTION are. Guitar riffs that are severely high-pitched lead us into a final and more defined chorus with additional sounds added. This song brings me back to my Myspace days- I would have loved this as a teen!
The next track, INCOMPLETE, starts the most mellow yet with echoing guitars and autotuned softened vocals. The pace picks up but the song seems to stay less hardcore than the rest of the album…for now. Fast-paced choruses have echoes of screaming, but it gives depth rather than chaos. Halfway through the heavier sounds come into play, and guitar riffs pick up the pace. It is repetitive in places and has less twists and turns than the rest of the album, but is still executed well. Just when we thought it was the mellow one of the album most rageful screaming ensues for the bridge and alternates melodically between softened vocals and heavy screams.
“STAY 4EVER” is fast-paced and anime theme tune-like with tumbling instrumentals and high-pitched notes accentuating everything with perfectly fast paced screaming throughout. High energy is given alongside emo lyrics and lots of twinkling sounding instruments make the song sound delicate but urgent. Lots of small notes lead to an overall sound. Dark and urgent whisper screaming makes the song sound poetic. They tell a story with this song through lots of different emotions, which they project all equally well. Impressive instrumental solos are heard throughout,t and all have high-pitched keyboard-sounding notes layered well with them.
AUTOMATION: starts off quite gloomy and suspenseful. I’m beginning to wonder what it leads into…guttural screams and thrashing guitars, which do not disappoint. It remains heavy throughout and has intricate scales which are high pitched and highlight the lyrics throughout with powerful choruses.
“HIDE__SICK” is also a favorite. Menacing echoing voices bring us into fast-paced screaming and chaotic musical contributions. It has electro and warped synth sounds throughout. There are propeller noises in the background, which propel us into what sounds like a theme tune for a computer game. They’ve creatively mastered storytelling with this track. Nostalgic emo choruses are so catchy and pull at our heartstrings. Narrations from a voice at the end lead us into high-pitched quadruple-timed strings which are plucked super sharply.
“TORMENT” starts heavy instrumentally with all instruments coming in at once, but these surprisingly lead to some softened vocals and light instrumentals next. The subtle and noticeable difference between loudness is mesmerizing and graded well. The lowest and longest screams, which are impressive as we wait for them to take a breath; ignite the heaviest bridge with crashing guitars which surround the vocal sounds.
“A LOVE THAT SLOWLY DIED” is musically genius. It has electro and soft pop elements. Vocals sound beautiful and perfected, with autotune echoes, techno singing sounds and wind chiming in the background. A sad emo love song that turns heavy exactly halfway through- just when we needed it to. What emotions? They’re lost in the breakdown. It is emotional, heartfelt, modern and metal.
This album leads to the destruction of metal music as we know it. It’s incredibly in-depth and has lots of layers to it. Recommend you to listen as you won’t hear something else quite like it!