Returning from 30 years of LP silence are New Jersey legends Deadguy with their sophomore release, Near-Death Travel Services. Their 1995 debut Fixation On A Co-Worker is a staple metallic hardcore album, one that influenced burgeoning bands like Converge and The Dillinger Escape Plan among others to become the aggressive stalwarts that they are today. Starting with “Kill Fee,” the listener finds themselves properly transported back to a time when the music scene was a bit different, but one feels like a proper follow-up to an album three decades in the past.
“Barn Burner” is exactly as described, with everything within it nearly exploding including at the end of the song where vocalist Tim Singer shreds his vocal cords to maximum effect. The high-flying, angular riffs are thrown around within the context of their songs almost at war with the rest of the sound, Dave Rosenberg’s drums eventually slow to become background noise, providing instead a solid balance between the speedy chaos and the ominousness of near silence on “New Best Friend”. His ability to also write riffs adds another layer of vital complexity to this already vile mix.
“The Forever People” makes great use of the stop and go nature of the band’s music again providing Singer’s great and unique voice a proper platform with which to project its vitriol. Guitarists Crispy Corvino and Keith Huckins aren’t shy about their pyrotechnics, especially Huckins who is known to drop a Voivod riff or two into this band’s sound, while on “The Alarmist” bassist Jimmy Baglino drives the band home with his fat bass riffs that make their way to the forefront of the track.
Very few bands can make the transition from 1995 to 2025, but Deadguy have done so with aplomb and by simply continuing to do what defined their career to this point. Fans of the aforementioned metal/mathcore bands and even fans of more recent critical darlings, Chat Pile (especially vocally) have so much to digest here. This is an essential record for any metal and hardcore fan. For a band that age-wise feels towards the end of their tether, Near-Death Travel Services breathes life into a career revival that doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon.
(released June 27, 2025 on Relapse Records)
Heavy Music HQ Rating:
Watch Deadguy – “Kill Fee” Video
