This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Few metal bands are more succinctly named than Brampton’s The End. Or more fittingly named.
Even the briefest exposure makes it painfully and impressively clear these avant-garde grinders have staked out a place for themselves at the most extreme point of the musical spectrum — a cozy little neighbourhood next to like-minded folk such as Dillinger Escape Plan, The Locust, Voivod and Today Is The Day. It is here that they have built their mind-squishing sophomore CD Within Dividia, a fierce, ambitious and uncompromising concept album about a fictional estate. If by “estate” they mean “cross between an asylum and the Blair Witch house,” we’re on the same page.
To open the doors of the awe-inspiring Dividia is to be instantly and relentlessly assaulted by guitars that thrash and burn, a rhythm section apparently tumbing down an endless flight of stairs and the incomprehensible vocal contortions of a tortured demon finally cracking. All of which are arc-welded into insanely heavy and complex constructs that keep you lurching wildly off-balance even as they brutally pummel you into whimpering submission. In other words, enter at your own risk. And consider this: For The End, this may be just the beginning.
