Our review of Descent Into Darkness, the fifth full-length from Indiana blackened thrashers WRAITH, is now live — and Ryan Thompson gave it a 9/10. The album came out yesterday, November 13, via Prosthetic Records on CD, LP and digital. It follows 2024's Fueled By Fear, the band's first record for the label.
The album was recorded by Matt Sokol (vocals, guitar), Jason Schultz (guitar), Chris Petkus (bass) and Mike Szymendera (drums), with co-producer CJ Rayson. Sokol teaches history to tenth graders, and this time he built most of the record around World War I. "Most of the songs pull from some battle or phase of conflict," he explained, adding that he wanted to tell the stories of people history books tend to skip, from mill workers to soldiers who didn't want to be there.
In his review, Ryan finds a band that isn't trying to reinvent the wheel but refines and intensifies what already works. He singles out "Over The Top" and "Final Warning" as virtual orders to start a pit, live or in a grocery store line. He also praises how tight the songs are: ten tracks in about 35 minutes, with the closer "Back In The Trenches" the longest at 4:42. The only moments that feel slightly out of step come in parts of "No Man's Land". His verdict: "All in all, this is a stellar record."
Lead single "Final Warning" is, in Sokol's words, "a story about ignoring warnings", drawing a line from the signs before World War I to today. Watch the visualizer below.
Order & Stream "Descent Into Darkness": Bandcamp
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