“I Don’t Want To Die In Darwin” - BATARA KALA

BATARA KALA – I Don’t Want To Die In Darwin

Darwin’s heavy scene has just spat out something feral—and its name is Batara Kala. Formed in 2025, this NT four-piece (Levi on vocals, Jake on drums, Malachi on guitar and Luke holding down the low end) have arrived swinging with a three-track debut EP, I Don’t Want To Die In Darwin, that blends hardcore, metalcore, and death metal into one chaotic, sweaty mess.

At just under seven minutes total, this thing doesn’t waste your time. It gets in, kicks the door off its hinges, and pisses on your pot plants. First up, title track “IDWTDID”—a 55 second blast of pure panic. Levi sounds like he’s vomiting rage into a bin fire while the rest of the band stampede behind him. Short, sharp, and violent. Just the way its ment to be.

Watch “IDWTDID” on YouTube.

“MR DENTON” follows, and it’s an absolute weapon. Clocking in at 3:43, this is where the band really flex. Blistering riffs, tectonic breakdowns, and drums that sound like Jake’s trying to punch a hole through the kit. There’s a real death metal edge underneath the hardcore snarl, but it’s delivered with the kind of precision that suggests these blokes aren’t just angry—they’re calculated.

Closing track “WITCH HUNT” is 107 seconds of stompy, spiteful mayhem. It opens with a riff that slaps you in the chest, then spirals into a pit-inviting beatdown so heavy it could knock the stubby out of your hand. Levi’s vocals reach a new level of cooked here—equal parts hardcore bark and death metal snarl, sounding like he gargled broken glass for breakfast.

There’s no fluff’n about, and definitely no clean singing. Just raw, honest aggression from a band clearly sick of the heat, isolation, and dread of Australia’s Top End. I Don’t Want To Die In Darwin is a brutal debut that screams promise and sounds like a warning shot from a scene ready to explode.

If you like your hardcore with a death metal hangover and zero bullshit, don’t sleep on this.

Get in the pit, or get the fk out of Darwin.

10/10 - spin it.