French hardcore band Who I Am have unveiled Imminent Devastation, a record shaped by the uncertainty and isolation that followed the COVID-19 outbreak. Written mainly between late 2021 and 2022, and recorded at Studio 6 in England (home to Malevolence, Guilt Trip, Brutality Will Prevail), the album delivers nine tracks of chaotic, heavy-hitting hardcore mixed with new school metal influences, drawing sonic parallels to Incendiary, Suburban Scum, and Terror.
“The world seemed to become more and more complex and on the edge of breaking—it still is in a certain way,” the band states. That sense of volatility is central to the album’s concept. Imminent Devastation takes aim at broad social collapse while threading in personal crises. It covers the hypocrisy of power, the commercialization of violence, ecological decay, mental health struggles, and abandonment.
The core message remains consistent: humanity is on a self-destructive path—socially, environmentally, and emotionally—and ignoring it won’t stop the damage. “The 9 tracks of the record give a rushing feeling of raw energy and set a mood of chaos,” they explain. “The lyrics speak about the world’s crisis and some inner and personal issues.”
The title track paints the bleakest outcome: “Overconsumption and expansion already led to some natural catastrophe… These are warnings, and if we push our world to the edge, maybe a greater devastation will occur and that would be the end of humanity.”
Listeners can dive into the full track-by-track commentary below, detailing the personal and political themes that run through each song.
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Here is a commentary track by track of each song:
Abuse Of Power
This track is about how the rules of this world are made by the rich and influential people, and they are the ones disrespecting their own rules. They think they are above all moral laws. They create the rules for a better control of the population, knowing they can easily escape any felony they face.
Blood Rush
This song is the most personal song of the album. It describes the feelings and the physical symptoms you face during a panic attack. It’s a feeling a lot of people can experience during their lives, and I experienced it myself during a certain period of time. It was a really hard time to deal with, so I had to write about this inner struggle. You are at the same time your own enemy and your own savior. You have to seek help and deal with the situation the best you can. As I say in the chorus “Kill my bane, break the chains”. It’s a long process but you can beat this condition.
Gutter Press
“Gutter Press” is about all the horrendous things we can see/read in the press every day, and people making money on it. Of course it’s important to be aware that the world is often a dark place, with terrible events going on. But this shouldn’t be a business. For some media blood is money, and they will do everything they can to get the most graphic picture or video to make money with it. They make money on human misery and morbid curiosity, sometimes even putting other people’s lives in danger.
Barking Dogs
This song is about rejection and abandon. While growing up, sometimes you realise you have been neglected by people you trust, especially your parents when you were a kid. These feelings are often buried and they blow up later in life, leaving you no choices to face the past. This negligence made me think about people who abandon their dogs. It’s the worst thing you can do to someone who puts trust in you, just like a dog being abandoned by the person he loves the most.
Denying Reality
This one is about global warming and how our governments keep their eyes closed in front of this threat either denying it or believing it’s not even real. The clock is ticking and it’s time to rethink the world we want to leave to our children, if it’s not too late already.
The Bitter End
This track was written during the covid outbreak, back in 2020 or 2021. In March 2020 the whole world stopped and humanity had to confine to limit risk of contamination. It was a pretty unique experience for everyone, being isolated at home, away from friends, family and the things we love. Once again, the expansion of human activities seems to be the cause for this outbreak, and it’s a rather dystopic perspective for the future to be isolated from each other because of new diseases we release despite ourselves.
Sick World
In the continuity of the two previous tracks, “Sick World” covers the same subjects. Humanity is on a thin line as it keeps expanding in a world that is not limitless. We keep overexploiting our planet’s resources, ignoring all kinds of consequences. This will of constant development could be our downfall.
Imminent Devastation
The last track of the album is a logical evolution of the situation if we keep pushing the limits of our planet. Overconsumption and expansion already led to some natural catastrophe : tsunamis, earthquakes, pouring rain. These are signs that show us that if we go too far, there is no coming back. These are warnings, and if we push our world to the edge, maybe a greater devastation will occur and that would be the end of humanity. An Imminent Devastation that would turn our world to dust. Let’s hope it’s not happening yet.
