D-beat is some kind of cheat code. Any band who makes d-beat, the frantic and driving form of punk rock pioneered by bands like Discharge, will usually end up kicking at least a little bit of ass. If you can play d-beat with any level of competence, I will probably enjoy your music. If you can play d-beat well — if you can use that style to channel speed and fury and intensity — then I will probably end up loving your record. On first listen, I think I might love Peace Decay’s debut EP.

Peace Decay are a new band from Austin, and their members have been in other punk bands like Vaaska and Severed Head Of State. On their new EP Death Is Only…, Peace Decay play d-beat with serious focus and ferocity. The sound is sharp and clean, the guitarists play triumphant metal leads when they’re not cranking out juddering riffs, and singer Enok Vasquez sounds less like he’s singing and more like he’s burping up clouds of magma. All six tracks on Death Is Only… are absolute rippers, and you can hear them below.

Death Is Only… is out now on Beach Impediment Records.