Extreme metal joke projects are everywhere in 2025, but very few are built like P€NI$LOBOTOMY. On “P1$$WORLD”, four tracks and just under eight minutes of Monopoly-themed chaos become a showcase in how to make something utterly ridiculous and utterly professional at the same time. This is silly, fun, ultra-violent grind/ slam that is executed with the discipline and precision of people who live at the very top of the modern heavy-music food chain.
For anyone not already neck-deep in the online deathcore ecosystem, P€NI$LOBOTOMY is a genuine supergroup. Andrew Baena, the founder and guitarist of Carcosa and a hugely influential low-tuned YouTuber, brings his trademark sledgehammer rhythm work and arrangements. Alongside him is Johnny Ciardullo, vocalist/ guitarist for Carcosa and AngelMaker, whose presence alone tells you exactly how serious the vocal and riff standards are here. Add in US heavy-music workhorse Austin Dickey (now of Dark Watch, with a long history of deathcore and metalcore projects) and multi-instrumentalist/producer Drewsif, a veteran of progressive/ djent, covers and high-end studio work, and you have a line-up that simply should not be allowed to write songs called “IDON’TREALLYLIKEMONOPOLY” and “GREGECTOMY”. Yet here we are.
What makes “P1$$WORLD” stand out is that, underneath the memes and the board-game puns, the production is almost absurdly good. Across the EP, the credits consistently centre Drewsif as engineer and producer, with Andrew Baena and Johnny Ciardullo also credited for production on at least some tracks. The result is one of the cleanest, most punishing small-format extreme releases of the year.
The guitars hit that modern slam sweet spot: heavily down-tuned but never flabby, with enough midrange definition that every chug and dissonant slide reads clearly even when the mix is absolutely saturated. The bass fills out the sub-low space rather than just following the guitar; you can feel it as much as hear it, especially when the band drop into those half-time, vertebrae-liquefying grooves. Drums are triggered and tight, but crucially they stop short of that sterile, plastic feel – the kicks punch hard without obliterating the guitars, and the snare cracks through the mix without turning into white noise. Vocals sit right where they should in this style: on top of the wall of sound, but glued into it, with each layer distinct rather than collapsing into a single roar.
Opener “IDON’TREALLYLIKEMONOPOLY” sets the tone immediately: a blink-and-you-miss-it slam assault that feels like being thrown straight into the late game with no money, no properties and a deep resentment for Rich Uncle Pennybags. The arrangement is lean, efficient and absolutely ruthless; verses and breakdowns are stitched together so tightly that there is no dead air, yet the mix never feels cluttered. It is a textbook example of how to make a sub-two-minute song feel like a complete, satisfying experience rather than a throwaway joke single.
“MILBURNPENNYBAGS” pushes the concept further. There is a slightly groovier, almost deathcore-adjacent lurch to the riffs, and this is where the vocal chemistry really begins to shine. The interplay between Johnny Ciardullo and Austin Dickey – layered gutturals, highs and mid-range barks – turns what could have been a one-note slam exercise into something far more dynamic. Underneath, you can hear Kaylen Khadrawi’s additional guitar work adding colour and extra harmonic teeth, a detail borne out in the song’s credits and very audible in the way chords flare around the central chugs.
The title track “P1$$WORLD” functions as the EP’s centrepiece. If the opener is the punchline and “MILBURNPENNYBAGS” the setup, this is where P€NI$LOBOTOMY step back and say, “Right, here is the full toolkit.” The track leans harder into deathcore structure – big, insistently hooky rhythmic motifs, a clear chorus shape buried under all the filth, and breakdowns that feel engineered for festival clips and reaction videos. Sonically, it is perhaps the best single advert for the EP’s production values: multiple guitar layers lock together without smearing, the low end remains articulate even at peak density, and there is just enough top-end sizzle to make the pick attack cut without ever becoming harsh. On a purely technical level, this is the kind of mix you end up AB-ing your own projects against.
Closer “GREGECTOMY (feat. Bernth & Brandon J. Acker)” is where the supergroup concept really tips over into the surreal. Bringing in shred demon Bernth and classical/early-music specialist Brandon J. Acker for a slam track should not work on paper, yet it absolutely does. The juxtaposition of traditional plucked-string tones against digitally brutal modern guitars is handled with real care; the production finds a space in the stereo field where the lute-like lines breathe rather than being swallowed by the distortion. It is a tiny masterclass in integrating “novelty” elements without derailing the core heaviness, which is precisely the sort of move that could have turned this into a meme-only release, but instead elevates it into something genuinely inventive.
Lyrically and thematically, “P1$$WORLD” is exactly as absurd as the titles suggest. This is not trying to be profound; it is a grotesque, Monopoly-coloured theme park of slam, gore humour and internet-native sarcasm. But that in itself is part of the charm. Where a lot of comedy-leaning extreme projects lean on the joke to excuse weaker songwriting, P€NI$LOBOTOMY do the opposite: they write and produce as if this were a flagship serious release, then drape it in stupidity for contrast. That tension between complete silliness and complete commitment is what makes the EP so effective.
There are limits, of course. At four tracks, “P1$$WORLD” is over almost as soon as it starts, and if you are not amused by the concept, its replay value will live or die entirely on how much you enjoy ultra-clean, ultra-tight slams from some of the scene’s most prominent players. But for listeners who appreciate both extremes, this is a small masterpiece of its kind. It is also, frankly, a calling card for everyone involved on the production side: if you want to hear just how far you can push modern extreme metal sonics without losing clarity or impact, this is essential reference material.
For my money, “P1$$WORLD” is exactly what a supergroup EP should be: short, savage, technically flawless and smart enough not to take itself seriously for a single second.
Rating: 9/10
Release Date: 30 October 2025
Label: Self Release
Writer: Andy
Tracklist:
- IDON’TREALLYLIKEMONOPOLY
- MILBURNPENNYBAGS
- P1$$WORLD
- GREGECTOMY (feat. Bernth & Brandon J. Acker)
