TOBY WOODS GUITARIST PLAYS AFTER EXTINCTION

After Extinction, released on September 19, 2022, was the fifth full-length studio album by the British band Kaine. It marked a massive turning point for the group, both musically and commercially. Before this album, Kaine was largely known for a traditional New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) style—think sweeping melodies and classic Iron Maiden vibes. After Extinction was a deliberate break from that mold. Band leader Rage Sadler completely overhauled the line-up and decided to inject a heavier, angrier energy into the music. The album shifted drastically toward a faster, tighter speed/thrash metal style, drawing comparisons to Exodus, Accept, and classic UK thrash. It was a fiercely topical record, written during the COVID-19 pandemic and dripping with frustration, snarling riffs, and political bite.

The gamble paid off. The album was released through Revival Metal Records and managed to break into the UK Official Charts Top 100, peaking at No. 85. Critics praised it for breaking Kaine out of the “stale waters” of standard revival metal and giving them a renewed, aggressive identity.

Toby Woods is the lead guitarist for the British speed metal band Kaine. He joined the lineup in 2018 when the group was reformed by frontman Rage Sadler in Colchester, Essex, and he has been a core member of their signature thrash/speed metal era ever since.As lead guitarist, Toby’s fast, melodic, and precise playing style helped redefine Kaine’s sound away from standard traditional heavy metal and toward a much sharper, aggressive thrash approach. He performs lead guitar duties on their major studio albums.

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Following the 2022 album After Extinction by the British speed metal band Kaine, the band released an EP called Extinction After. Both of those releases culminated in their next major full-length studio album, Extinction’s End. Because the band loved the core songwriting of this pandemic-era material but felt they could push the aggression even further, they used tracks like Second Coming, A Slave to the Grind, New Age Martyr, and The Storm Is Coming as the foundation for their 2026 total reimagining, Extinction’s End.

Extinction’s End features a darker, heavier, and more aggressive thrash/speed metal direction, acting as a complete reimagining and re-recording of the material they wrote during the Covid era.

Kaine’s “Extinction” Release Timeline

• After Extinction (September 2022) – The original full-length studio album that broke into the UK Top 100 charts.
• Extinction After – A subsequent EP following up on the album’s themes and tracks.
• Extinction’s End (February 2026) – The definitive follow-up album. The band completely re-tuned, rewrote, and re-recorded the tracks from the previous Extinction era to create a much more aggressive, atmospheric sound.