REVIEW: I WILL DESTROY YOU - Dead Before Dawn

Emerging from the influential depths of horror films, dark industrial synthwave, and a mix of 80s dance tracks, San Diego’s new answer to haunting darkwave I WILL DESTROY YOU are set to release their debut EP Dead Before Dawn. But for those with a familiar ear or anyone who’s been on the scene for a while, you’ll know this isn’t the musicians’ first forays into the music world, the band formed from the likes of AMENITY, ILYA, and CRUSHED ON YOU to name a few. These seasoned artists have come together to announce a new dawn rising for darkwave.

Channelling their love for the disturbing horror films that linger and the jarring rush of 80s electronic synth music, they’ve combined these elements with heavy industrial beats into an EP of cinematic and emphatic tracks, each song feeling like it was composed for a specific dramatic film or game score and standing almost independently of each other, but unmistakably the sound I WILL DESTROY YOU will become synonymous with. Composed to adapt to its surroundings and feelings, be that appreciating it in dim, lonely rooms or late night drives, the EP itself doesn’t tell a complete story but each track has been curated to stand out in its own element.

At less than a minute, we’re introduced to Dead Before Dawn by the utterly chilling From Beyond, eerie synths wavering between two notes as a synth drum beat pounds steadily in the background, before it slows to a heartbeat pace and a siren builds in volume - it’s entirely reminiscent of 80s horror films like John Carpenter’s The Thing and Halloween, designed to build your anticipation for what’s to come and leave you uncertain of what comes next. WitchHammer steps away from the frightening horror aspect and goes into racing music with synths and fired up guitar riffs, the exact score you would hear when a protagonist is in the final fight for salvation and the tide could turn either way. It’s 80s electronic soundtrack fused with industrial beats and classic metal guitar riffs, the likes of which HeMan would wield the power of Grayskull to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9nxMavU80E

Nekromantik walks a different path to its predecessor in its sound but no less carries that compelling cinematic quality to it, like something out of Mad Max. High-pitched haunting synths drive through the track as it slowly begins to build, the announcement of the first breakdown in the form of a disembodied voice admitting “I killed a man. A man who looked like me.” before descending into classic metal riffs that spit back. There’s no definite theme to this track, it’s open to interpretation of how you feel in the moment and how you want the melody to shape your next choices. Terror Vision starts with a disturbing dialogue about the “Messiah question” as instrumentals rise in volume and strength, giving way to a rushing techno drum beat that feels both modern and of another time long ago. Written to have a paranoia-like feel to it and an underlying of political unrest, this track spends the first half in a claustrophobic state before a guitar solo rings out and shatters the walls down.

Lighthouse Keepers returns us to the battlefield with explosive synths overlaid on drums, before everything crashes together in a melody that doesn’t follow one thread but multiple, including a slightly funk-infused riff that hits out of nowhere. It doesn’t quite feel like the song has a set destination in mind, playing more on the feeling of isolation as the world collapses around you. Closing out their striking and immersive debut to the world, Deathstalker has no time to waste, barrelling forward with a crispy drum beat and rising synths at war against fuzzed guitar riffs. It gives you no space to breathe or process from the first listen, it’s a track (in fact, an entire album) that demands you listen over and over until you understand what I WILL DESTROY YOU are creating in the long run. What they’ve created in Dead Before Dawn is an eclectic movie score that can be utilised in every-day life, almost begging the listener to decide whether they will be the protagonist or antagonist to their own story.

Score: 7/10

Dead Before Dawn will be released on 29th May 2025 via Futureless.

Words: Julia Stark

Photos: I WILL DESTROY YOU