Oakland thrash/crossover quintet Doomsday unleash wrath on its debut effort, Never Known Peace. Doomsday get straight to business on “Death Is Here”, with its ferocious D-beat and rapid triple riffing. Guitarists Ryan Calaveras and Robert DeLorenzi throw out some impressive guitar leads, showcasing the band’s thrash metal influences and dispelling any assumptions that is by the numbers tough guy hardcore. “The Outlaw” is the initial single and it is a blistering track clocking at under three minutes. The relentless riffs bludgeon the listener and drummer Eddie Vigil plays like a demon escaping Hell. The midsection breakdown will cause a pit the moment the band plays this live. I can see hole open up and the bodies colliding into one another. “Eternal Tombs” has a cool, laid back groove that is vaguely reminiscent of Slayer’s “Die By The Sword.” No, it is not a rip-off, but one can hear the influence sneaking through. Things speed up midway with some bottom heavy riffing and a nice guitar trade off. “Killing Fields” shows the band playing full speed and letting out two minutes of aggression.
The album’s latter half takes a slight turn, with more groove oriented tracks. “Pain Dweller” is a mid-paced track that lacks the wallop of the previous tracks, but drives the album forward. The brief instrumental “Extinction’s Hymn” is a hauntingly majestic ninety second interlude with a galloping tempo and a dissonant guitar riff signifying the destruction that awaits. The title track trudges forward like a tank over rubble with vocalist Charlie D. belting “There’s no saving me/I’ve never known peace!” The breakdown during the final half of the track is simply crushing. Ripped To Shreds guitarist Andrew Lee lends his talents on the last tracks, “Holy Justice” and “Remnants of Spite.” The former is a slow, grooving track with an urban grit like Burn My Eyes era Machine Head. Lee’s dark, bluesy guitar lead adds to the hopeless feeling on “Holy Justice”, like a person wandering through a wasteland. “Remnants of Spite” ends the album in thrashing fashion. It is a no-frills, pugilistic track that closes the album in fitting fashion.
Never Known Peace is notable for its brevity and strong songwriting. Doomsday offer 10 tracks with only one going over 4 minutes in length. The songs are well constructed with a balance of speed, groove and rhythm transitions to keep them interesting. There is very little monotony on this album, which I attribute to the band drawing from multiple influences. You hear Slayer and Testament as much as you hear Cro-Mags and Sick Of It All in addition to several over bands. Thus, the guitar leads are technical and chaotic and the band plays in the pocket when needed. Zack Ohren did a fantastic job producing the record, with the bottom heavy guitars and crisp percussion.
Doomsday does not disappoint on Never Known Peace, which is certainly going down as one of the best albums of 2025. This record will satisfy old school and new school metalheads alike and will drawn in hardcore fans as well. The riffs, leads, grooves and speed are all in abundance and cements this Doomsday’s status as one of the best bands out right now. These guys may never know peace, but they certainly know how to play heavy music.
Check out Doomsday’s Bandcamp page for music, merch and tour dates: https://doomsdaycahc.bandcamp.com/album/never-known-peace
