Chicago’s Nequient relish in hardcore punk ethos while blending thrash, death, grind, and more on their excellent third album, Avarice.
Release date: April 24, 2026 | Nefarious Industries | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp
Is it possible to open your social media or turn on the TV without being darkened by the looming shadow of dystopia these days? I know that my disdain for advertisements mixed with very specific tastes leads me down avenues of discovery far from the mainstream, but it seems impossible to be reasonably informed and somehow consenting or even happy about the state of the world right now. Most people seem too stressed about work and money, or simply too content with convenience and distraction to care. Fortunately, Chicago heshers Nequient have returned at the right time to channel their chaotic rage into a chimeric burst of energy that doubles as catharsis for those of us with wary minds and a penchant for all kinds of heavy music on their latest album, Avarice.
Nequient first hit my radar when they played in my own stomping grounds and later when I saw them at Reggie’s Rock Club in their hometown as part of the Peace Simulation Pop Up where they performed alongside underground metal favorites like Blood Incantation, Primitive Man, Indian, and Inter Arma. Both shows were full of energy and were anticipating their sophomore album, 2022’s Darker Than Death or Night. However, their genre is hard to pin down. They undoubtedly wear their influences on their cut-off sleeves, but those influences shift between hardcore punk, thrash metal, mathcore, death metal, and grind. Regardless of how you may choose to describe them, Nequient deliver unabashed and relentless energy. Darker Than Death or Night always felt a little disjointed because of this genre bending, but Avarice finds Nequient harnessing their energy and restlessness into something far more codified.
Opening track and lead single, “Mad King/Fool” immediately hits with aggressive thrash-punk riffage as vocalist Jason Kolkey’s unique voice tears into the mix like Dave Mustaine fronting Crumbsuckers before he flips and goes into an Aaron Turner-esque death growl. The contrast between the vocal styles can be startling, but it gives the band an impressive dynamic to work with as they shift between genre tropes like Trump switches between declaring the war in Iran over and escalating it. Patrick Conahan’s guitar work is mesmerizing and in lock-step with Chris Avgerin’s rollicking d-beat drumming and new bassist Aaron Roemig’s precise rumbles. The track shifts into a proggy breakdown halfway through before a caustic death thrash conclusion that flows neatly into “Christofascist Zombie Brigade”, a song that weaves snotty campy punk into their already chaotic mix. The more you listen to this track, the more fun it becomes, especially with the incredible accompanying stop-motion music video.
These continuous detours sound tighter and better executed than Nequient have ever sounded before, in part due to the excellent production from Sanford Parker and mastering from Collin Jordan. The psychedelic middle portion of “Splenetic and Moribund” lets each instrument echo into the shadows with a lovely clarity before a nearly brutal breakdown throws the pit into a frenzy. Later, on “Rintrah Roars” as the band swings from thrash to black metal blast beats to hardcore to slowed down crust doom, the effects and density remain focused and clear, even as guest Kevin Kalay‘s modular synthesizers take over for a moment of tripped-out paranoia. The following track, “Obsolete Machines” also features guest synth work from Circa Tapes morphing a song that makes the perennial hardcore kid in me grin from ear to ear into a sci-fi epic, like Mindforce and Voivod were meeting on a tech CEO’s future space station to demand that they pay us a living wage.
Nequient have shown a vast improvement in their performances and songwriting on Avarice. Their technical skills are sharper than ever. The production and overall quality of this record bring it to life nearly as much as their impressive stage presence, and their barbed attacks against political and capitalistic oppression, genocidal and warmongering lunatics, and religious hypocrisy echo the sentiments of the rightfully pissed off, informed, and compassionate masses with all of the focused rage of the best hardcore bands, albeit with an ever shifting metallic edge. Despite the righteous fury, Avarice is the most fun record I’ve heard this year and should rightfully ascend Nequient to one of the most recognizable metal bands in Chicago and the whole of the United State.
