Review Summary: Torch a terrorist preschool and fill your hands with baby brains
Evil Island is the new outfit composed of three-fifths of ex-
Blood Brothers members, fronted by Johnny Whitney, with Cody Votolato on guitars and Mark Gajadhar on drums. They’re joined by Autry Fulbright (ex-
…And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead) on bass, with previous Blood Brothers collaborator Ross Robinson behind the production. While this isn’t a direct sequel to The Blood Brothers’ legacy, it is very much a spiritual successor.
The Blood Brothers were one of the most legendary and distinctive post-hardcore bands of the 2000s, known for their creativity, chaotic high-energy performances, the frenetic, high-pitched vocal attacks of their two frontmen, and their strange, out-there lyrics. Their sarcastic, effeminate, borderline queer energy (despite no members being LGBTQ+) made them poster boys for the Sasscore movement, flipping traditionally masculine hardcore on it’s head.
So obviously, it’s pretty hard to talk about this without a comparison to The Blood Brothers so let’s get it out the way: Terraform The Afterlife doesn’t reach the same heights of insanity or creativity of that band, but it picks up largely where they left off. There’s a little less chaos and a little more restraint that comes with age and maturity, but this is still a frantic, chaotic and wild listen that will often make you feel like you’re flying by the seat of your pants.
Johnny Whitney still ***s hard. His high-pitched screams and strained, tortured delivery remain completely intact, and he sounds absolutely UNHINGED throughout much of this record. This is a towering performance and a killer return from one of post-hardcore’s most electric vocalists. His songwriting also plays heavily into infectious earworm hooks and catchy call-and-response sections, while the lyrics remain suitably offbeat and enigmatic.
Cody Votolato’s guitar work is just as important. It’s frenetic and high-energy, driving the tempo and insanity of many of these tracks and ensuring that this doesn’t simply become the Johnny Whitney show. Instrumentally, Evil Island operate firmly within post-hardcore, occasionally wandering into alternative rock territory, rather than reaching the heavier and more extreme ends of screamo or emoviolence that The Blood Brothers occasionally flirted with. There’s more restraint here, but this is still a total blast.
The opening run of songs is where Terraform the Afterlife is at its most exciting. Opener “Melted Heart”, featuring Alexis Krauss (
Sleigh Bells), is an explosive introduction, immediately throwing you into a frantic, high-octane ride and one of the album’s many ridiculously catchy choruses. Krauss vocals just add to the sass.
“Terminatrixx”, featuring Michael Gatto of
XCOMM, is another blistering barnburner, going absolutely pedal-to-the-metal for its brief 90-second runtime. Then comes “Animal”, which probably has the biggest and most insanely catchy hook on the entire record, and I love how far off the rails Johnny’s vocals go as the song develops. “Tiger Baby” is another highlight, with some of my favourite lyrics on the album (
“if I sawed my head off, would you throw it at children?” and
“if I mailed you my mouth, would you feed it a landmine?”). Instrumentally this is a little more alt-rock-y, but Johnny carries it with plenty of swagger alongside some great call-and-response sections.
“T-Hexx”, features Guy Picciotto (
Rites of Spring, Fugazi) and is another cool collaboration as Guy’s legendary emo vocals pair well with Johnny’s, particularly when the two trade off on the chorus. The album then moves through “Evil Island Death Cult National Anthem” and “Grow Spikes”, the latter being the kind of stomp-the-floor, clap-your-hands number that feels tailor-made for a live setting.
Then comes perhaps the most obvious reunion moment with “I Bought A Spell”, featuring the other half of the Blood Brothers’ vocal attack, Jordan Blilie. Johnny and Blilie still have great chemistry together, although instrumentally this is probably the most avant-garde track here, and I’m not sure it will stick in my head as one of the album’s more memorable numbers.
The tracklist is quite frontloaded with those opening handful of songs containing the biggest hooks, the most focused songwriting and some of the most immediately fun moments on the record. Intentionally or not, things start to get looser in the second half. “No Good”, “Moonlight Doomlight” (which does have some fun woahs), and “Blinding Rage” all have their moments, but they start to feel less eventful and more ordinary instrumentally.
“Blinding Rage” in particular features some soaring vocals from Johnny that could have made it an appropriate closer, but instead we get “King Death”, which thankfully gives the back end of the album a bit of a kick up the ass. It’s one of the more anthemic tracks here, with some of the most entertaining songwriting on the latter half. Finally, “Suicide By Cop” closes things out with some menacing riffs and guitar work, providing a suitably unhinged ending to an album that spends much of its runtime teetering on the edge of completely losing its ***.
Ultimately, Terraform the Afterlife is a pretty killer debut in its own right that stands on it’s own legs rather the riding the legacy of the members’ previous band. Yes, it’s a little too frontloaded, and no, Evil Island haven’t quite recaptured the sheer insanity or creativity that made The Blood Brothers so special. But the energy, performances and songwriting all rule. Johnny Whitney sounds as ferocious and unhinged as ever, the band are clearly having an absolute blast, and the whole thing is just a tonne of fun.
If you’ve been desperately waiting for something to scratch that Blood Brothers itch, this will absolutely do the job. But even without that connection, Terraform the Afterlife stands up as one of the best post-hardcore records of 2026.
