British tech metallers Perpetual Paradox have returned with a new single – and it’s an absolutely unrelenting number that pushes the band’s heavy crossover sound to its brutal limit.

‘Ash and Blood’ – taken from their upcoming full length disc ‘Deathwish’ (due for release in June 2025) – opens with an incredibly taut prog metal riff, sounding like Periphery in a particularly harsh mood, then slips into a touch of death metal pneumatics, before reintroducing the original riff. The addition of a vocal finds the music taking steps into more of a hardcore sound, when the prog elements are joined by a crushing metalcore groove and some melodic death metal fury. That would be enough to make such an intense track fly, but a deeper tone during the chorus where elements of a doomier sound collide with a Lamb of God-esque grind really shows off a band who are in genuine command of a great riff.

For those not entirely sold on such an intense sound at this point, things lighten up just a little a couple of minutes in, when rhythm guitarist Jorge Nuñes takes centre stage with an old school thrash riff, which, in keeping with one of the band’s earlier musical flourishes allows a ‘Resolution’ era Lamb of God era sound to push everything forward. The extra melody is then offset by vocalist Adrian Caucelo in full melodic death roar, but by the time he steps back, the band really cut loose with a fantastic prog metal riff and by sharing a blistering lead break courtesy of Oliver Miles. When eventually returning to its core prog-death hybrid, ‘Ash and Blood’ already sounds like a track that’s put in some seriously hard yards…and it’s only clocked up three and a half minutes.

As metal tracks go, this is truly immense. It won’t play to a broad audience, even in metal terms, but lovers of technical thrash, melodic death and extreme prog metal are likely to love what they hear. Check out the full track below.