REVIEW: Perpetual Paradox - Deathwish

After a couple of heavy hitting EP's and singles - with their first only having dropped in 2022 - Perpetual Paradox, a band hailing from London that consists of Adrian Caucelo on vocals, Oliver Miles on lead guitar, Jorge Nuñes on rhythm guitar, André de Barros on bass and Will Armstrong on the drums, has finally graced us with their debut album Deathwish. This release has the potential to stand as any modern deathcore fan's top album drop of the year already. The album really pushes to include recurring themes throughout the album, such as war and self-destruction, which are shown off both within the music and lyrical content.

The album starts with a slow burner by the name of 'Alea Lacta Est', that starts with a gradual building guitar riff, backed by eerie whispering and faint drums. As it nears the end of the track, the vocals transition into clear and hard hitting yells to start off the second track 'Forgiveness is a Weakness'. This dramatically switches up the vibe, with heavy hitting drums, gnarly vocals and some hefty guitars, it comes right out the gate as a dramatic way to truly kick off the album. The song continues with the a bombardment of drum beats and screams galore, until a hard hitting breakdown hits us with the lyrics "No forgiveness" to wrap up the second song.

Perpetual Paradox then waste no time kicking into the midground of the album, 'Backbone of Existence', hitting us with detailed guitar runs and some mellow lyrics throughout the song, switching between harsh guitar tones and some heavy drumming coming through. 'Self/Gravity' comes next, and this song provides the atmosphere and themes that the band have worked so hard to distribute throughout their album. About halfway into the song we run into some beautiful clean vocals from Adrian, who proceeds to throw us right back into the deep end for the finale of the song with an immense blast breakdown, accompanied by some scathing guitar riffs.

This then transitions into the brutal 'Unhealable Wounds', which starts off fast and heavy. With an immense vocal performance that resonated perfectly with all instrumentals, Adrian powers through the lyrics and screams - it's obvious these guys know how to make potent deathcore. Slowing down as they reach the end of the song, the music then ramps back up as we enter 'Deathwish' the title track of the album. Again, vocalist Adrian almost barks out the lyrics here until proceeding to smack us once again with a different approach, guiding us into a calmer, more mellow section of the song before a guttural finish to hammer home this excellent title track.

Before the album's end, Perpetual Paradox have one last treat up their sleeve by the name of 'Into the Void', an incredible five minute track. Right out the gates, the band shows us once again how lyrically talented and musically gifted each member is, from the vocals to each instrument, all the way through to the production allowing everything some room to breathe. We get multiple vocalisations again, with cleans and gutturals both taking centre stage across the track, all whilst the track moves precisely and powerfully underneath. As we reach the last minute we get an astonishing crescendo into what sounds like rainpour and thunder, gradually getting quieter as the guitars come to a slow but grinding stop, to wrap up the album in a tense, atmospheric manner befitting of the themes and style.

Deathwish is an absolutely amazing piece of music from Perpetual Paradox - not only does it show their talent off, but it's blatant that a lot of the time and care has been put into this record. Marking a phenomenal debut, the potential this band have shown off is a truly wonderful thing to behold, and we can't wait to hear more of the Londoners'music.

Score: 8/10

Deathwish was released on June 27th 2025.

Words: Jack Thomson

Photos: Perpetual Paradox