Behind The Tracks: EXTINCTION A.D - They Live, They Die (Single) (2026)

They Live, They Die - A hard turn from COZ, there is no innocence in this song. An absolute call out of the slimy, self-serving, scumbags that infest our scenes. It’s the way of the world. There are sketchy people everywhere. It never fails to disappoint me, though, when those people infiltrate the punk and metal and hardcore scenes, no matter how many times it happens. To the point, though, those people ALWAYS expose themselves. Here today, gone tomorrow. When there is something to be taken, money to be made, clout to be chased: here they are! Loud as possible, main character energy like their name is bigger than the movie on the poster outside of a theater. When their star has faded, or their band breaks up, or their label collapses, or the venue they book shows at closes down, they’re a fucking ghost. When the music for this song was written, I knew exactly what the lyrical directive was. Musically, we do this stupid thing leading up to each album while we’re traveling between shows, and that's coming up with a list of random ideas to incorporate into new songs. 75% of the ideas are absolute nonsense or completely unattainable guest spots, but the other 25% are something that, at very least, spawn an idea that makes its way into a song. This song made use of “closed hi hat breakdown,” which was changed quite a bit from the creation stage to the execution stage, but “fast thrash later in the song as opposed to early” was in effect. The opening of the song was written at a practice with everyone in the room, which is a rarity for us. I’m fairly certain if you listen to the ending breakdown while getting into a fight, there is no one on earth you can’t beat into oblivion.

Support independent metal journalism — Visit the official BTC store